Excerpt from Yiddish
article in Der Yid’s November 22, 2019 edition
Brooklyn, NY – During the past few months, New York City's Department of Health has revealed that the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Boro Park have unfortunately retained their lead as the areas in New York City. These two locations have the highest percentage of children tested for lead and found to have lead levels of over five micrograms per deciliter in their blood. This rate is the highest in the entire city. The children with high lead blood levels were, in the last few years, specifically concentrated in Williamsburg's Jewish neighborhood with the 11211 zip code, between Heyward Street and Division Avenue.
The second worst area with regards to lead poisoning is Boro Park, where 518 out of 16,000 children under the age of six who were tested turned out to have lead levels of 5 or more micrograms per deciliter. This comes to three and a quarter percent of all children tested.
These numbers are more than double the city's numbers in general, where less than one and a half percent of all children tested had such high blood lead levels. The level is also lower in Brooklyn, where less than two percent of children tested had such high blood lead levels.
The law dictates—and health experts are calling on parents—to make sure that every child takes the lead blood test at one or two years old. Parents should also make sure to ask for the results of the test.
Studies have shown that children with lead in their blood are in danger of suffering developmental problems chas v' sholem, and it may lead to a lowered IQ. No amount of lead is healthy, and the higher it is, the more harmful it is likely to be. Excessively high levels could be extremely dangerous. Most lead problems in New York City come from the dust of peeling or cracked paint in old houses, built before 1960 when lead paint was used.
Landlords of houses with three or more units, which are homes to children aged six and younger, must, by law, inspect their units at least once a year. If they have peeling or cracked paint, they must be fixed by certified workers to ensure that the lead paint is removed in a safe, secure fashion.
Residents of older apartments who see peeling paint in their apartments should speak to their landlords and request that it be fixed by certified workers using safe methods, which includes the cleaning of the area to avoid dust. Residents of such apartments should also wash their floors often, as well as windowsills, their hands, toys, and pacifiers. They should also allow water in the sink to run until cold before making a bottle for a baby or using it for cooking or drinking. For more information on how lead paint must be corrected, call 311.
Landlords can benefit from assistance in correcting lead issues in their apartments. HPD has a grant for landlords that provides a contractor to fix apartments, going as high as $10,000 per apartment or higher to fix lead issues. Houses with low-income residents are eligible. The UJO has already helped with the application of this grant for tens of apartments in the neighborhood.
The UJO has been working with the Department of Health for several years now to make residents aware of the harmfulness of lead and the steps to take to help reduce the dangers. This last year, the Boro Park JCC has also begun offering Lead Safety services in collaboration with the UJO.
For more information on correcting lead issues, questions about receiving your child's lead blood test, assistance for landlords in applying for the grants, or to add your name to a list for taking part in training to become certified to fix lead issues, call the UJO at (718) 643-9700, ext. 502, or email leadsafety@unitedjewish.org.
In Boro Park, contact Mrs. Sivan at the BPJCC at (718) 972-6600, ext. 4615, or email NSivan@bpjcc.org.
