Syracuse, N.Y. - Syracuse Common Councilors are revealing that they are missing a key piece in their fight against lead poisoning in children.
Lawmakers revealed that two-thirds of Syracuse’s rental houses aren’t part of the rental registry. Officials expect that there are around 9,000 city properties that should be part of the rental registry. Right now, the list sits at around 3,000. Additionally, those landlords have routinely ignored tickets and fines aimed at getting owners to apply.
Apartments need to be on the registry in order for City inspectors to have a list of properties to test for toxic lead dust when a City Ordinance becomes law.
The City has spent the last two years working towards rental inspections. In 2017, 600 children became sickened from lead poisoning.