Legislators Want MTA to Check for Lead Paint in Stations throughout NYC

Lawmakers in New York are pressuring the MTA to get rid of lead paint in subway stations and other infrastructure throughout the city.Representatives are introducing legislation that would give the MTA one year to survey its facilities for lead paint and determine how much work is needed to remove it.

State Senator Jose Peralta from Queens and assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz from the Bronx are sponsoring the bill, which comes just days after a painter's union report came out showing dangerous levels of lead in paint chips from the above-ground number 7 line at the Roosevelt Avenue stop in Queens. He said the study found lead levels at Roosevelt Avenue are close to 40 percent higher than what is deemed safe.

Peralta said stops along the 7 line are some of the most heavily trafficked stations in the entire city, so falling paint chips pose a serious health threat to a lot of straphangers and pedestrians. He said they have been pushing for an inspection for a while, especially since a lot of vendors prepare food underneath above-ground stations.

"The last thing we want is some of these paint chips falling into the food, and the street vendors not know that the chips are falling in," Peralta said. "They could get someone sick."

The MTA has not yet responded to our request for comment.