Queensbridge Homes has the distinction of being not just New York City’s largest public housing project, but also the biggest public housing project in the country. This housing development is one of 330 that is owned by the New York City Housing Authority or NYCHA, the city agency that is currently under scrutiny over poor maintenance and lead poisoning complaints in its properties. Numerous residents have filed complaints that the agency has long ignored its dilapidated buildings putting them at risk of injuries and illnesses including lead poisoning.
America’s Largest Public Housing Project
Located in West Queens, Queensbridge Homes is divided into two separate complexes. The North Houses on 40th Avenue and the South Houses on 41st Avenue. Together, these complexes house more than 6,000 people in about 3,000 apartments. Each of the 29 apartment buildings house 96 units. Queensbridge has been the childhood home of celebrities such as rappers Nas, Mobb Deep, Blaq Poet and Shante and NBA player Ron Artest who used to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Queensbridge has also had its share of violence and crime like other public housing projects. By the 1960s Queensbridge had completed its transition into a predominantly low-income housing project. In the 1980s and 1990s, it gained notoriety for drugs and violence. In 1986, it gained the dubious note of having the most murders of any project in New York City.
Queensbridge and Lead Poisoning
Not surprisingly, there have been several complaints of poor maintenance especially chipping lead paint. A recent news report told the story of one woman in Queensbridge who said her kitchen was so badly infested by cockroaches and mice that she was forced to spread boric acid in her kitchen. The woman also said she tested the chipping paint in her apartment with an over-the-counter kit approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and that it detected lead.
She said she reported her findings to NYCHA, but the agency gave her a test from 13 years ago that claimed the paint was lead-free. Last year, an incriminating report by the city’s Department of Investigation accused NYCHA of failing to conduct required annual lead inspections in 55,000 apartments and lying to the government about those inspections.
It’s Affecting Children
So far, more than 1,000 children living in NYCHA units including several in Queensbridge Homes have been diagnosed with excessive levels of lead in their systems. Children suffer the most serious impact of lead poisoning because lead wreaks havoc in their developing bodies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half a million children between the ages of 1 and 5 living in the United States have elevated lead levels in their blood.
Children’s brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. What is frightening about lead poisoning is that it can affect just about every system in the body, but may not produce any definitive symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms, when they do appear, include hearing issues, headaches, anemia, behavioral issues, hyperactivity, stomachaches, learning disabilities and damage to the brain and nervous system.
Seeking Compensation for Your Losses
If you live in Queensbridge Homes or in any of the other projects as a tenant, you have the right to expect a safe and healthy environment. If you live in public or private housing and your child has been diagnosed with high blood lead levels, then you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the NYCHA or private landlords for damages.
You may be able to seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, cost of diagnostic tests, permanent injuries, lost income and benefits, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. A knowledgeable New York City lead poisoning lawyer will be able to help you file the lawsuit and compile the evidence that is required to hold the agency accountable for its negligence (carelessness).
Filing a Lead Poisoning Lawsuit
If your child has been affected by lead poisoning, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our firm recovered $1,162,500 for a child who suffered lead poisoning from paint in her apartment. The child’s injuries were subtle and difficult to recognize. We recovered $162,500 above the $1 million dollar total insurance policy in this case. Despite the judge’s efforts to settle the case for $950,000, we fought hard and recovered $162,500 more than the insurance full policy of one million dollars.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Sources: https://untappedcities.com/2013/07/01/queensbridge-nyc-inside-americas-largest-public-housing-project/
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/10/03/queens-resident-says-nycha-refused-to-acknowledge-lead-she-tested-in-her-apartment