NYCHA Launches New Team to Handle Lead Removal for Residences with Young Children

Image Credit: NYCHA.

The program helps target apartments with lead paint that young children frequent. On July 14, 2021, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) launched the Team for Enhanced Management Planning and Outreach (TEMPO). The TEMPO program is dedicated to outreach, inspection and remediation of lead-based paint in NYCHA apartments where a child under the age of 6 lives or routinely spends ten or more hours a week.

The TEMPO program was launched as part of the Initial Lead Action Plan. The program enhances lead safety protocols for repair work and expedites lead abatement. The program prioritizes the abatement of lead-based paint in apartments with children under six, starting with apartments that have two or fewer components (including walls, baseboards, pipes, closet shelves, etc) that test positive for lead. The program will also increase the number of annual visual inspections to two per year. Residents can request additional assessments by contacting the Customer Contact Center at (718) 707-7771.

The TEMPO program will also establish a single team to handle repairs and remediation work for apartments with children under six that have three or more lead-based paint components. While safe practices are always required with lead abatement, apartments that contain young children require special care. The special team created by the TEMPO program will specifically address repairs and removal for apartments in this category, and will have faster repairs, more accountability and help with measures like temporary family relocation. 

When TEMPO teams need to conduct work, families will be offered temporary accommodations if work is needed in a critical space and cannot be completed within a day. Access to work spaces will be restricted if families choose not to relocate while the work is being performed. 

To determine which apartments have children under 6 that live or frequently visit, NYCHA will perform annual door-knocking surveys. The most recent of these surveys was conducted in June 2021. Residents will also be encouraged to identify if young children are present through the annual notices form and in the annual and interim recertifications. 

For more information about TEMPO and lead safety, click here. 

NYCHA Chair and CEO Greg Russ stated, “NYCHA’s TEMPO program will allow work to be done faster, increase communication and supervision, and provide greater protection for our families. This critical work is a huge step forward in our efforts around lead-based paint and will increase the safety of our households with young children.”

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been stated, “TEMPO is precisely the proactive, state of the art lead program that NYCHA families deserve. Since 2019, in collaboration with its federal partners, NYCHA has been dedicated to developing a lead action plan and creating compliance, training, testing and outreach protocols to address and eradicate lead in New York City public housing. TEMPO is an important result of this work as we move forward in addressing this critical issue.”

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)