| Releases
& Statements
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
April 16, 2008
Contact: Sarah Krauss
(212) 669-4193; (917) 541-0936
Release #:14-2008
PA Gotbaum, Councilmember Mendez, Coalition for Asthma-Free Homes, Announce New Bill to Fight City Mold and Pest Problem and Help Reduce Asthma
MANHATTAN – Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today introduced a bill to reduce and regulate indoor asthma allergens in New York City apartments, specifically mold hazards and pest infestations. The bill, co-sponsored by Councilmember Rosie Mendez and drafted with the Coalition for Asthma-Free Homes, would amend the Housing Maintenance Code (HMC) to require agencies to establish a minimum standard for the prevention and clean-up of these hazards to reduce asthma attacks.
The legislation, called the New York City Asthma-Free Housing Act of 2008, requires owners of multiple dwellings where a person with respiratory problems resides to prevent and immediately remove indoor allergen hazards. While the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) considers some mold conditions to be a violation of the HMC, there is currently no established and enforceable protocol for mold assessment and remediation. In addition, city policies rely on careless pest management services that create further health risks; the repeated use of pesticides can be especially hazardous to asthmatics.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, “No more cutting corners. Mold won’t go away with an extra coat of paint and pests can’t be swept under the rug. These problems have serious health consequences and our bill will force landlords and inspectors to take them seriously. There has never been a consistent or appropriate standard for dealing with mold and pest infestations in New York City, and that needs to change.”
Councilmember Rosie Mendez said “Under this Mayor, our city has taken some tremendous steps to improve the public health of residents. It would be a shame to put so much into cutting smoking rates and transfat intake, and then not be as pro-active on another dangerous threat, asthma triggers in people’s homes.”
Michael Seilback, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy of the American Lung Association of the City of New York, said: “We thank Public Advocate Gotbaum and Councilmember Mendez for introducing a bill with important benefits for lung health in New York City. This legislation will protect all New Yorkers who are currently left without recourse for reducing respiratory health hazards in their homes.”
Irene Tung, Director of Organizing for Make the Road New York, said: “Thousands of asthmatic New Yorkers are being forced to live in homes that are not only infested with rats and mold, but that actually make them sick. This legislation will put an end to that.”
Asthma triggers in the home include cockroaches, mice, rats and dust mites. According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), people with pests in their home are nearly two times more likely to suffer from more severe asthma symptoms. The hazards of toxic mold include headaches, sinus congestion, shortness of breath, and skin irritation, and are known to aggravate preexisting asthma conditions and contribute to the development of asthma.
Dr. Bob Morrow, an award-winning Family Physician in the Bronx, said: “The large majority of our kids with asthma, likely more than 80%, live in home environments notable for their asthma triggers. If we could prescribe allergy free housing, the asthma rates for kids would drop dramatically.”
Reyna Hernandez, a mother with asthma and a member of the Fifth Avenue Committee said, “My family and I lived in Mexico for half our lives without any asthma symptoms whatsoever. Within a year of moving to Brooklyn, my two kids, my husband, and I all got asthma.”
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports that asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism among children accounting for over 14 million total missed days of school nationwide. Asthma is the most common cause of hospitalization for children under fourteen. Moreover, a 2003 report by the DOHMH states that children in New York City were nearly twice as likely to have been hospitalized for asthma in 2000 as kids in the United States as a whole.
Harvey Epstein, Director of the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, said: “Americans spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors, according to the EPA. For the one million New Yorkers – including 300,000 children – who live with asthma, hazardous indoor air is a serious threat.”
Public Advocate Gotbaum released a report in December 2006 entitled Unhealthy Exposure: Mold in NYC Homes that found a dramatic increase in mold complaints in New York City. The report recommended that the City update building and housing maintenance codes and step up enforcement of existing regulations. According to HPD, 21,121 mold complaints were filed in 2006, over 4000 more than in 2005.
Public Advocate Gotbaum was joined today by Councilmember Rosie Mendez and the Coalition for Asthma-Free Homes, which includes the American Lung Association of the City of New York, the Fifth Avenue Committee, Make the Road New York, the New York Immigration Coalition, the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, the Urban Justice Center, and WEACT for Environmental Justice. Other co-sponsors of the bill include Councilmembers Michael McMahon, Melissa Mark-Viverito, John Liu, Leticia James, and Anabel Palma.
Email to support the bill or get more information
###
|
