NYC School System Failed To Consistently Conduct Lead Paint Inspections For Years, Records Reveal

New York City’s Department of Education consistently failed to follow requirements for annual lead-paint inspections in schools over the last five years, records show.

Hundreds of city reports show that only 12% of schools serving young children were inspected once a year between 2015 and 2019.

The records, obtained by Gothamist/WNYC under the state Freedom of Information Law, show that inspections were most consistent in Manhattan, where 16% percent of schools received annual inspections, and least consistent in Brooklyn, where just over 2% of schools were inspected each year.

The records also show that even within individual buildings, testing was inconsistent, often including only a handful of classrooms serving young children.

Lead is a neurotoxin and young children are especially susceptible to its effects. Research shows that even relatively low levels can cause brain damage, including loss of IQ, hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. The Centers for Disease Control has concluded that no level of lead exposure is safe.

Prompted by a Gothamist/WNYC investigation, the city conducted citywide inspections last summer.

Those inspections found that over 1,800 3-K through first-grade classrooms had lead-paint hazards in need of immediate remediation, raising questions about the department’s diligence in previous years.

Listen to reporter Christopher Werth discuss his findings on WNYC:

The records for those years, covering over 800 school buildings built before 1985 serving children under the age of 6, were released to us by the city comptroller’s office this week. The DOE did not comply with records requests we submitted last year.

In September, the head of the DOE’s Division of School Facilities, John Shea, assured the public that those inspections had been conducted in accordance with the law.

“We have data on the classrooms that we were required to test in prior years,” Shea said in response to a reporter's question at a community meeting in Harlem. “I can tell you that [regarding] the protocol for the annual inspections, we have records for what we did.”

But the records also reflect what the department didn’t do.

At P.S. 151 in Brooklyn, for example, 11 out of the 13 classrooms inspected in the summer of 2019 were found to have deteriorating lead paint. For six of the classrooms that tested positive, there is no record of previous inspection results dating back to 2015.

At P.S. 130 in the Bronx, none of the four classrooms found to have peeling and chipping lead paint last summer had been inspected in the previous four years.

In a written statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said the gaps in the inspection records do not necessarily indicate the DOE had not followed the health code, although the law requires documentation.

“Incomplete database records are not proof that the work did not occur,” said Jane Meyer, a spokesperson for the mayor. “We recognized the need to improve our record keeping this summer.”

However, the mayor’s senior advisor for citywide lead prevention, Kathryn Garcia, has admitted the department’s protocols had fallen short.

“It wasn’t as systematic as it should have been,” Garcia said at a live event at WNYC in December. “We decided that we needed to be much more proactive, particularly as we continue to expand the number of small children who are in our public schools with the expansion of pre-K and now the expansion of 3-K. There are many, many more classrooms that have little children in them.”

The DOE has also encouraged parents to have their children tested for lead exposure. But many parents have continued to express their concerns.

“I shouldn’t have to use my daughter to tell if there’s lead in the school,” said Kevin Muir, whose kindergartner attends P.S.9 in Brooklyn. Her classroom was among those found to have deteriorated lead paint last summer. Records show it was only inspected twice in the previous four years.

“I’m frustrated that we’re put in a situation where we’re reliant on government officials to protect our children, and they’re neglecting us,” Muir said. “The DOE is negligent at this point.”

The expansion of universal pre-K for 4-year-olds and now 3-year-olds is one of Mayor de Blasio’s signature achievements. Roughly 70,000 students are currently enrolled in pre-K programs throughout the city.

The city’s health department has long maintained that schools do not pose a principal risk of lead exposure in New York City. Lead paint in homes is the most typical source.

But the data from previous years shows that when inspections were done, deteriorating lead paint was regularly found in pre-K classrooms, and many of those inspections took place on days when school was in session.

As part of the DOE’s protocols, custodians were required to visually inspect classrooms. If they found peeling paint or other paint hazards, the rooms were tested using a portable x-ray fluorescence analyzer to determine whether lead was present.

On January 7th, 2016 — a school day — peeling lead paint was found in a total of six areas inside a pre-K classroom at P.S. 165 in Brownsville. In 2018, hazardous conditions were found in two more pre-K classrooms while school was in session, and both tested positive. But there is no record in the data of when remediation work was carried out or whether students were removed from classrooms until work was completed.

The inspection report for last summer shows that 13 out of 16 classrooms at the same school tested positive for lead paint. The school’s principal, Jason Rivers, referred questions to the DOE, which could not immediately confirm whether students were removed or whether remediation took place in previous years..

The DOE has now expanded its protocols.The agency says that all students are now immediately relocated to different classrooms when remediation work is required.

Inspections will now take place three times a year, and all results will be made publicly available. Common areas such as cafeterias, school libraries, gyms, auditoriums and bathrooms, will now be regularly inspected once a year. Last month, the City Council passed legislation codifying those new practices into law.

The School Construction Authority says it spent almost $10 million on testing and remediation last summer, and the work is continuing this school year.