Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Lawsuit Forces NYCHA To Remove Mold In Days, Not Months
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 17, 2013
Modified Dec 17, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 4
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 17, 2013
Modified Dec 17, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A lawsuit and settlement agreement filed in federal court will force NYCHA to swiftly remove mold from public housing units. Previously the housing authority had painted over or bleached moldy walls, which caused residents with asthma and other respiratory ailments to suffer difficulty breathing, wheezing, hospitalization, and a proliferation of cockroaches and other vermin in their apartments. Now, under the review of a federal judge, NYCHA must remove mold from afflicted units in 15 days or less, and has to maintain these response times 95% of the time for at least three years. Previously NYCHA took months or even years to remove mold.
The mayor's office has also agreed to a pilot program to use electronic moisture monitors to address future issues without "eyeballing it," as has been NYCHA's practice in the past.
The lawsuit and settlement agreement were filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice on behalf of the nonprofit community organizations Manhattan Together and South Bronx Churches. The groups claimed that the recurring mold issues in public housing where residents live with asthma represented a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Low-income communities traditionally have higher rates of asthma than other neighborhoods, and blacks have three times the risk of dying from asthma and its complications than whites.
"Because of the mold in my apartment, I have more trouble breathing at home than I do outside,” 43-year-old Maribel Baez, a resident of the Melrose houses in the South Bronx, says in a release. “Home should be a place where you are safe, not a place that hurts you."
Tagged
asthma
mold
nrdc
nycha
public housing
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .