Landlords Could Soon be Responsible for Indoor Air Quality

[Guest guest]

Landlords Could Soon be Responsible for Indoor Air Quality

By Lin

Epoch Times Staff May 21, 2009

The Epoch Times - New York,NY,USA

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/17138/

Council member Rosie Mendez and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum join community

groups in cheering on a bill that will make it a landlord's responsibility to

clean up asthma triggers in buildings. ( Lin/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Two years in the works, a bill to make landlords responsible for the

cleanup of indoor asthma triggers such as mold, rats, and cockroaches is close

to becoming a law.

If passed, the Asthma-Free Housing Act (City Council Int. 750) would increase

the presence of visible mold from a level A violation to a level C violation. It

would allow the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to

inspect residences at the request of tenants and issue violations. Landlords

whose tenants have respiratory problems must fundamentally correct the

infestation within 21 to 60 days of receiving an HPD violation. If they don't,

it becomes the City's burden to do so. Following the cleanup, the landlord may

be issued a fine or the tenants could take their landlord to housing court.

The bill is sponsored by council member Rosie Mendez and has the backing of 25

council members. Mendez and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum stood with members of

community group Make the Road New York, Urban Justice Center, and others to show

their support of the bill.

Mendez likened asthma to other public health issues the city has tackled. " While

the city has taken diligent steps against obesity and diabetes, now is the time

to take action against asthma, " she said.

Attention to the health of indoor air has increased since the Public Advocate's

2006 report on mold, titled " Unhealthy Exposure: Mold in New York City Homes. "

In it, researchers wrote that though current guidelines for mold remediation are

not enough because they do not have the force of the law. Without enforceable

measures, landlords often simply paint over visible mold. Cleanup crews are also

not currently required to have licenses for mold remediation. A bill in both the

Assembly and Senate will require remediators to be certified by the Department

of Environmental Conservation.

Housing in poorer neighborhoods are more likely to have structural issues. Mold,

rodent, and cockroach infestations are present in 50-60 percent in areas such as

upper Manhattan, Stuyvesant Town, parts of Queens and Central Brooklyn,

according to the 2008 Housing and Vacancy survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Droppings from pests are known asthma triggers.

New York City has some of the highest asthma rates among major cities,

especially among children. New York was rated number 39 among 50 cities for air

quality in a study last year by Sustain Lane, based on data from the

Environmental Protection Agency. Last Updated

May 21, 2009

[Guest guest]

KC,

Thanks for findng this. For those interested, the official press

release from the NYC Office of the Public Advocate is at:

http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/news/04.16.08MoldandPestBill.html

Has anybody seen the draft legislation? I haven't been able to

find it.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

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Landlords Could Soon be Responsible for Indoor Air Quality

By Lin

Epoch Times Staff May 21, 2009

The Epoch Times - New York,NY,USA

http://www.theepoch times.com/n2/content/view/17138/

Council member Rosie Mendez and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum join

community groups in cheering on a bill that will make it a landlord's

responsibility to clean up asthma triggers in buildings. (

Lin/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK-Two years in the works, a bill to make landlords

responsible for the cleanup of indoor asthma triggers such as mold, rats,

and cockroaches is close to becoming a law.

If passed, the Asthma-Free Housing Act (City Council Int. 750) would

increase the presence of visible mold from a level A violation to a level C

violation. It would allow the Department of Housing Preservation and

Development (HPD) to inspect residences at the request of tenants and

issue violations. Landlords whose tenants have respiratory problems

must fundamentally correct the infestation within 21 to 60 days of

receiving an HPD violation. If they don't, it becomes the City's burden to

do so. Following the cleanup, the landlord may be issued a fine or the

tenants could take their landlord to housing court.

The bill is sponsored by council member Rosie Mendez and has the

backing of 25 council members. Mendez and Public Advocate Betsy

Gotbaum stood with members of community group Make the Road New

York, Urban Justice Center, and others to show their support of the bill.

Mendez likened asthma to other public health issues the city has tackled.

" While the city has taken diligent steps against obesity and diabetes, now

is the time to take action against asthma, " she said.

Attention to the health of indoor air has increased since the Public

Advocate's 2006 report on mold, titled " Unhealthy Exposure: Mold in

New York City Homes. " In it, researchers wrote that though current

guidelines for mold remediation are not enough because they do not

have the force of the law. Without enforceable measures, landlords often

simply paint over visible mold. Cleanup crews are also not currently

required to have licenses for mold remediation. A bill in both the

Assembly and Senate will require remediators to be certified by the

Department of Environmental Conservation.

Housing in poorer neighborhoods are more likely to have structural

issues. Mold, rodent, and cockroach infestations are present in 50-60

percent in areas such as upper Manhattan, Stuyvesant Town, parts of

Queens and Central Brooklyn, according to the 2008 Housing and

Vacancy survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. Droppings from pests are

known asthma triggers.

New York City has some of the highest asthma rates among major cities,

especially among children. New York was rated number 39 among 50

cities for air quality in a study last year by Sustain Lane, based on data

from the Environmental Protection Agency. Last Updated

May 21, 2009