The Legal Aid Society intervened on behalf of Make the Road New York and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, member-based organizations that primarily serve low-income people of color and immigrants, in defense of tenants’ rights to live in buildings free of harmful lead paint. Lead exposure is a persistent threat to children, and thousands of children in New York City test positive for elevated lead blood levels each year.

In this case, large landlords guilty of lead violations sought to force the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to create an administrative process for them to challenge findings of lead paint violations based on X-ray testing. For decades, these landlords have been under a continuing obligation to remediate lead-based paint in their buildings. But instead of acting to protect the children under six who live in their apartments, they sought to enjoin the City’s enforcement of Local Laws 66 and 69 of 2019, laws which created standards for lead-based paint testing, recordkeeping and audits.

In January 2025, the landlords withdrew their motion for a preliminary injunction and a federal judge approved a settlement agreement wherein the City agreed to issue revised regulations that will allow challenges to X-ray testing of paint on metal and other surfaces, where that method is prone to error. Report lead paint or dust violations in your apartment here.