Syracuse, NY — City and county leaders on Tuesday officially opened a new $500,000 residence for families who need emergency shelter after a child tests positive for lead poisoning.
The four-unit building will welcome its first family within the next month. It’s designed to serve as an Airbnb-type dwelling while emergency repairs are made to an apartment that has poisoned a young child.
Onondaga County and Syracuse each chipped in $250,000 toward the renovations of the century-old building, which will be run by nonprofit Home HeadQuarters.
Roughly 500 Syracuse children each year test positive for high lead levels. Even more unsafe apartments could be found if the state is successful at forcing landlords to fix peeling and chipping paint that experts say is the source of most poisonings…