City Filed False Paperwork on Lead Paint Inspections, Inquiry Finds

 

By J. David Goodman 

The chairwoman of the New York City Housing Authority knew in the middle of 2016 that the agency’s inspectors had not been checking apartments for lead paint, in violation of federal rules and local law. But in the fall, city investigators found, she signed off on paperwork certifying that the inspections had been completed.

The finding came Tuesday in a short but damning report from the city’s Investigation Department that described how the agency, which runs the city’s 180,000 units of public housing, had for years failed to inspect for lead paint, but told the federal authorities that it was doing so.

And even after the chairwoman, Shola Olatoye, learned of the lack of compliance, the agency filed paperwork stating that it abided by the requirements, which are tied to federal funding.

“Although Chair Olatoye, the general manager and other senior executives were aware that Nycha was out of compliance,” the report said, “NYCHA nonetheless submitted a false certification in October 2016, and had no reasonable explanation why this was acceptable.”

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Source: The New York Times (via The Empire Report)