With our important End of Year fundraising deadline quickly approaching, I’d like to tell you more about how your donation can help us protect children from the effects of hazardous lead paint.
This summer, NCLEJ filed a lawsuit against the City of Buffalo over their failure to fully implement a law designed to protect residents in rental housing from lead paint and other safety hazards.
Buffalo is one of the most lead-poisoned cities in the country, and every year, hundreds of children suffer the irreversible consequences of lead poisoning. Children living in Black neighborhoods in Buffalo are twelve times as likely to be poisoned by lead compared to children living in white neighborhoods. And though a 2020 law requires the City to inspect 36,000 rental properties triennially to ensure the absence of toxic lead paint and other unsafe conditions, the City has inspected only 4,827 dwellings over the last four years, leaving many residents exposed to harmful housing conditions.
Our lawsuit seeks to compel the City to perform inspections of rental properties to identify lead paint and other unsafe housing conditions so that remediation can occur. Our case is one of the first brought under the NY Constitution’s 2021 Green Amendment, which guarantees the right to clean air, water, and a healthful environment. It will demonstrate the power of state constitutions to protect against environmental hazards and serve as a national model for other communities.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
