The company originally contracted to sandblast the lead paint from the Williamsburg bridge back in the early 1990s received a $20 million payment from the City this week. After residents of the Lower East Side and Brooklyn sued the city over the paint chips and clouds of paint dust wafting over their neighborhoods over a decage ago, the City made the contractor switch from sandblasting to a much slower (and hence more expensive) hands-on technique to remove the paint. We have heard through the grapevine of two children in the Burg who’ve had moderate levels of lead paint detected in the past week–there was also some discussion on the Reno Blog recently about the issue. Since we’ve been living in Williamsburg for the past couple of years and are about to move into an old house that has had its share of lead paint glopped on over the years, it’s of particular interest to us as well. Can anyone direct readers to a good description of the risks and practical preventative steps homeowners and renters can take?
W’Burg Bridge Shock [NYPost]
Glass Panel Door [Brownstoner Renovations]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. we have recently bought a 100 year old house and lead paint is an issue. There is a new technique to solve this problem——–THE SILENT PAINT REMOVER recommended by THIS OLD HOUSE. Sounds too good to be true but it IS TRUE. Pull it up on the internet————you will be amazed.

  2. If you post that you keep kids/pets out, we might assume that you have kids/pets.

    Lead “fumes” are not the issue. It’s the chips and dust, which is why it requires a “wet” clean-up, etc.

    And I was also told that heat guns are bad. In fact I was told my several contractors, etc to leave the paint alone unless I was going to have it professional moved. I had my lead in my home tested (about $300) and have a couple of windows professionally stripped and left the rest intact.