SCHUMER URGES FEDS TO APPROVE $5.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL LEAD FUNDING FOR ONONDAGA COUNTY & CITY OF SYRACUSE – SENATOR SAYS CENTRAL NY RESIDENTS STILL SUFFER FROM LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARDS IN THEIR HOMES, AND IT IS TAKING A TOLL ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Onondaga County & City Of Syracuse Are Applying For Two Separate Federal HUD Programs, Which Would Allow Them To Remove Lead-Based Paint Hazards In Homes Throughout The County
While Onondaga County Has Received Fed Funding In The Past, It Is Not Nearly Enough To Mitigate All Lead-Based Paint Hazards, And Currently There is No Funding Source for a Solely City-Base Lead Remediation Program – Schumer Urges HUD To Quickly Approve Both The County And City Applications For Funding
Schumer To HUD: Fed Funding Would Better Help Homeowners Across Central NY Get The Lead Out
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to approve $5.5 million in federal funding through two separate federal grant programs that would help the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County to address and remove lead-based paint hazards in homes throughout the Central NY region. Specifically, Schumer said Onondaga County is applying for $3 million in federal funds through HUD’s Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant program, while the City of Syracuse is applying for $2.5 million in funding through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant program. Schumer said the ability to tap these federal resources on both the county and city levels would greatly help Central New Yorkers combat lead poisoning. Schumer said lead-based paints pose a serious threat to public health in the county, particularly to children and economically disadvantaged residents. This funding will enable Central NY to help reduce the danger posed by lead poisoning, and work to ensure that citizens across the county are able to lead safer, healthier lives.
“Lead poisoning is a pernicious, irreversible, preventable tragedy that robs many families and children of their future. We need to do everything we can to eliminate this hazardous lead from homes in Syracuse and Onondaga County, which are vulnerable because so many were built before 1978 when lead paint was banned. The City of Syracuse and Onondaga County have been working tirelessly to rid homes of this lead, but they need far more resources to provide safer environments for our residents and children, and particularly our most vulnerable,” said Schumer. “So I am urging HUD to approve this desperately needed $5.5 million in federal funding as soon as possible – because we need to act now and we need to act fast to get toxic lead out of our homes, before it is too late.”
Schumer said these additional HUD funds would supplement the funds that could be awarded to Onondaga County, as the City of Syracuse is applying for funds to be targeted to the most distressed, affected census tracts in the city, also known as our Neighborhood Revitalization Stabilization Areas (NRSAs). Funds would remediate 150 low-income housing units located primarily in the Syracuse NRSAs, where 49 percent of families are low-income, earning less than 80% of the area median income. In addition, 10 percent of those aged 16 and older in this area are unemployed, with 61 percent of children living in poverty. Schumer explained that, with 50 percent of rental properties in the City of Syracuse built prior to 1960, residents in those units are at greatest risk for lead-based paint hazards. Schumer said this HUD program would be the only grant funding source aimed at remediating rental properties in Syracuse.
Onondaga County Community Development (OCCD) is applying for a $3 million in Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant funding through HUD. If successful, Schumer said this would be the ninth grant the department has received. With previously awarded funds from HUD’s lead abatement programs, Onondaga County has made over 1,650 homes throughout all of the towns and villages in Onondaga County, as well as sections of the City of Syracuse, lead safe for children and families. The county’s Lead Program has been very successful and was even one in four grantees nationwide chosen in 2015 to participate in a Pilot Program sponsored by HUD. Schumer said a 2016 Lead Hazard Demonstration award for OCCD would provide grants to an additional 195 low-moderate income households with children, resulting in a safer environment for all families.
In addition, the City of Syracuse is applying for $2.5 million in Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant through HUD. This grant program requires a 10 percent match, for which the City of Syracuse has said it would provide in-kind. Schumer said both of these funding pots would do a world of good for the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County when it comes to lead abatement efforts.
A copy of Schumer’s letters to HUD, on behalf of both Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse, appear below:
Dear Secretary Castro:
I am pleased to write in support of the Onondaga County Community Development Division’s (OCCD) application for funding under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant program. Such funding will enable the OCCD to continue to address and remove lead based paint hazards in homes throughout the county.
The Onondaga County Community Development Division has administered a variety of housing rehabilitation programs since 1979, helping nearly 6,000 low-income households with a wide variety of housing issues. OCCD has received six Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control grants and one Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant since 2001, which have produced over 1,460 lead safe units throughout Onondaga County. Their work has been essential in identifying and addressing the presence of lead based paints, which pose a serious threat to public health in the county, particularly to children and economically disadvantaged residents.
With funding, the OCCD will be able to continue its program to reduce lead paint hazards in homes in every town and village in the county, including in the City of Syracuse. OCCD will commit at least $750,000 in matching funds, construction financing, and staff time towards the administration of the program. The prevalence of lead based paints poses a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of individuals and families throughout Onondaga County, and disproportionally affects low-income families. This funding will enable OCCD to help reduce the danger posed by lead poisoning, and work to ensure that citizens across the county are able to lead safer, healthier lives. I applaud the Onondaga County Community Development Division for their foresight and sincerely hope the application meets with your approval.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
Dear Secretary Castro:
I am pleased to write in support of the City of Syracuse’s application for funding under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program. Such funding will enable the City of Syracuse to establish a program to address and remove lead based paint hazards in some of its most vulnerable neighborhoods.
While past efforts by the City of Syracuse have made significant improvements to the living conditions in Syracuse’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, the historic nature of the City has left many still suffering from the once widespread use of lead based paints. The housing stock within the City consists primarily of houses built before 1939, many of which may be finished with lead-contaminated paint. Over time, the deterioration of this paint has led to elevated blood levels in children in several zip codes within the city, many of which are among the highest in New York State. The prevalence of lead paint in homes is a serious cause for alarm, and the risks it poses to citizens are real and very dangerous.
With funding, the City of Syracuse will be able to create a new program to address and reduce the presence of lead based paint hazards in homes by targeting properties within the Neighborhood Revitalization Stabilization Areas, where the city’s most distressed homes are located. The City does not currently have a lead hazard control program, making the implementation of this new program a top priority for both officials and residents. The City will collaborate with Onondaga County, which will act as the administrator for the program. This funding will allow the City to remediate 150 low-income housing units in the areas most affected by lead based paint hazards. The removal of these hazards will have a substantial impact on the health and wellbeing of some of the City’s most vulnerable individuals and families, and set them on the path to lead healthy, lead free lives. I applaud the City of Syracuse for its foresight and sincerely hope the application meets with your approval.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
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