Harlem Armory Hosting Kids Programs During Lead Abatement: Report

EAST HARLEM, NY — An East Harlem facility that hosts a number of programs for children is still in operation despite the possibility that it could be tainted with lead, according to reports.

The Harlem Armory, located on West 143rd Street between Lenox and Fifth avenues, is currently undergoing a $2.2 million lead abatement project despite hosting programs attended by more than 1,000 children per week, the New York Post first reported.

State officials will not release details about the lead treatment at the facility, which was converted into a community programming space in 2006 and is currently home to the Harlem Children's Zone nonprofit, the Post reported. Not even nonprofit executives or local elected officials know anything about the amount of lead in the building.

"I did not know they were doing lead removal at the armory — we should have known that they were doing it," State Assemblywoman Inez Dickens told the Post. "It’s disappointing because of the environmental impact that lead could have on senior citizens as well as children."

A former regional director of the federal Environmental Protection Agency told the newspaper that the state is just getting around to treating lead in the armory after two years of planning. The director also told the Post that kids programs should be moved from the facility while works is ongoing.

Read the full Post article here.

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