Senate Bill S5200

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5200

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public housing law, in relation to the New York city
housing authority and mold remediation

 
PURPOSE:

To require the New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA") to remediate
any instances of mold reported by any tenant to NYCHA within fifteen
(15) days of NYCHA's notice of the condition. In addition, within sixty
days (60) of the initial remediation, NYCHA shall revisit the apartment
to ensure that the remediation was successful.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1. Section 402 of the public housing law is amended by adding subdivi-
sion 10 providing that:

1. NYCHA shall remediate any instances of mold reported by any tenant to
              

NYCHA within fifteen (15) days of NYCHA's notice of the condition.

2. Within sixty days (60) of the initial remediation, NYCHA shall revis-
it the dwelling unit to ensure that the remediation was successful.

2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Existing state law establishes a toll-free telephone hotline to provide
information regarding health care providers and treatment centers with
expertise in illnesses associated with military duty.  There is also a
federal veterans' crisis line.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The North Carolina Division of Public Health describes mold as a type of
fungus that is an often "fuzzy-looking growth that appears on the
surface of organic materials in damp conditions, both outdoors and
indoors. Molds may be gray, black, green, yellow, orange or various
other colors, and may have a velvety or wooly texture."

The North Carolina Division of Public Health further states that produce
tiny spores in order to reproduce. Mold spores continually waft through
the air, both indoors and out-of-doors. When mold spores land on a damp
spot, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on
in order to survive. Indoors, molds can grow on wood, paper, fabrics,
carpet, foods and other organic materials.  Molds are a natural part of
the environment, but human health problems may result when people are
exposed to large amounts of mold, particularly indoors."

According to the Centers of Disease Control, many people are sensitive
to molds. For these people, exposure to molds can cause symptoms such as
nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation.  People
with serious allergies to molds may have more severe reactions. Severe
reactions may include fever, shortness of breath, skin rash and itching,
running nose, eye irritation, cough, throat irritation, headache,
congestion and aggravation of asthma. People with chronic lung
illnesses, such as obstructive lung disease, may also develop mold
infections in their lungs. Mold is also especially dangerous for indi-
viduals with compromised immune systems such as HIV/AIDS patients, organ
transplant patients or chemotherapy patients. NYCHA has a terrible
history of remediating mold in its apartments. Recently, after a law
suit was filed, NYCHA entered into a settlement agreeing to federal
oversight of its troubled effort to erase tenacious mold from hundreds
of aging apartments. The settlement requires federal oversight of
NYCHA's mold remediation activities for three years. This bill will
ensure that NYCHA will continue to properly remediate mold conditions in
its apartments even after the three year settlement has expired.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22 REFERRED TO SENATE HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOP-
MENT

2021-22 referred to assembly housing

2019-20 REFERRED TO SENATE HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOP-
MENT

2019-20 referred to assembly housing

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.