SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The City of Syracuse has issued thousands of citations in recent years for lead paint violations; a recent study suggests that the citations aren’t translating to prevention, with the number of poisoned children remaining stagnant.
Local activists with Families for Lead Freedom Now worked with Earthjustice to compile a report called “Falling through the Cracks,” which utilizes data the group said they obtained using public records requests.
Eathjustice Associate Attorney Marissa Lieberman-Klein explained that she was interested in seeing how Syracuse’s lead ordinance was functioning after it took full effect in 2022. The law, originally passed in 2020 and delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively gave city code enforcement the teeth to start trying to proactively identify lead paint in rental properties. The ordinance makes lead paint a code violation, meaning it must be corrected in order to achieve a rental license…