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Know Your Rights
Source: Betsey Gotbaum
Subject: Housing & Environmental Justice
Type: Media Coverage

Public Advocate Gotbaum, Councilmember Mendez, Coalition for Asthma-Free Homes,** Announced a New Bill Last Week to Fight City Mold and Pests

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today released a new videocast,
"Fighting Mold in New York City Homes" to promote a new bill she
introduced last week that would reduce and regulate indoor asthma allergens in
New York City apartments, specifically mold hazards and pest infestations.

The video tells the story of an
upper Manhattan
resident who has developed health problems as a result of the mold in her
apartment. Her landlord continues to paint and plaster over the water damage in
her apartment, even though mold experts identify penicillin mold in the walls
and floors. Public Advocate Gotbaum’s new law would require agencies to
establish a minimum standard for the prevention and clean-up of mold to reduce
asthma.

The bill was co-sponsored by
Councilmember Rosie Mendez and drafted with the Coalition for Asthma-Free
Homes.

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.

Watch the video here.

**Make the Road New York is a founding and active member of this coalition.