JACKSON ANNOUNCES OVER $14 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT NEW YORK STATE CHILDREN FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HAZARDS
Orange, Monroe, Onondaga and Westchester Counties among Grantees

NEW YORK - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today awarded more than $14 million in grants to New York State counties, public health organizations and non-profit groups to better protect children and families from dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards. The grants are part of more
than $118 million awarded around the nation to help make America's communities healthier and safer. In New York State, grantees included Orange, Monroe, Onondaga, and Westchester counties; the Environmental Education Associates, Inc. in Buffalo; the Research Foundation of SUNY for SUNY Potsdam; and, West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. in New York City.

"Today, we take another step closer toward ending childhood lead poisoning and making our homes safer and
healthier places in which to raise our children," said Jackson. "While we've made great progress in reducing lead poisoning, we cannot rest until we banish this preventable disease to the history books."

HUD grants will help 63 state and local projects around the country to conduct a wide range of activities including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and improving living conditions of lower income families. Through seven grant programs, HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous
lead and other hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; educates the public about the dangers of lead-based paint; and supports scientific research into innovative
methods to identify and eliminate health hazards in housing.

Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

The funding announced today includes $102 million to cities, counties and states to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards in thousands of privately owned, low-income housing units. These funds are provided through HUD's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control and the Lead Hazard Reduction

Demonstration grant programs. In addition, HUD's Operation LEAP (Lead Elimination Action Program) will provide
nearly $6 million to encourage private sector contributions that will enable children to grow up in homes that are
free from lead-based paint hazards. HUD will also award $2 million in Lead Outreach grants for public education campaigns on what parents, building owners and others can do to protect children. Further, nearly $2.8 million
will assist research to study methods to reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of lead hazard control strategies.

Healthy Homes Initiative

A variety of preventable health and safety hazards threaten children every year. For example, excessive dust or moisture in the home can trigger asthma. Injuries from scalding, electrical shock or carbon monoxide poisoning can easily be prevented with modest home repairs. HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative addresses these and other childhood diseases and injuries in the home by taking a holistic approach, and approaches housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time.

The funding announced today includes nearly $3.8 million in demonstration grants to identify and eliminate housing conditions that contribute to children's disease and injury, such as asthma, mold exposure, and carbon monoxide contamination. HUD is also investing more than $1.5 million to support scientific research into new ways of
identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.

New York State Grantees

The County of Orange will be awarded $2,821,149 in federal funds to conduct risk assessments and inspections
on 250 units, and abate 200 of these units of lead hazards. Lead Safe Orange (LSO) will use interim controls, component abatement and other methods rather than full abatement to protect the most children possible for
lead hazards. The Orange County Office of Community Development (OCCD) provides housing rehabilitation for low-
income residents and The Orange County Department of Health (OCDoH) administers a childhood lead poisoning prevention program. In previous years these efforts have operated independent of each but now they are coming together to administer this effort jointly. LSO subgrantees will form an Advisory council, meeting regularly to monitor program performance and coordinate roles and responsibilities. Contact: Thomas Lane, Director of Community Development (845) 291-2424.

Monroe County will be awarded $2,998,283 in federal funds to conduct lead reduction activities in 370 units.
Monroe County Department of Public Health will partner with The Home Depot; NeighborWorks® Rochester;
University of Rochester, New York State Coalition of Property Owners and Businesses Inc., Cornell School of
Industrial Labor Relations, Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning and other community groups and organizations. The
city continues to build on a previous HUD lead hazard control grant completed in September 2005, which created a model approach of low cost, efficient lead hazard control. The new grant focuses even greater resources on cost-effective lead safe housing, extended public outreach, and lead-related training in our community. Contact: John Felsen, Principal Public Health Sanitation (585) 753-5564.

Onondaga County will be awarded $3,000,000 in federal funds to complete interim controls of lead hazards in
210 units that qualify for financing, benefiting 225 children living in those units. Also, 72 persons will be trained to perform lead hazard control activities, 14 types of educational events will produce up to 1200 individual activities,
and 15,000 lead information brochures will be distributed. Contact: Linda DeFichy, Administrator (315) 435-3558.

Westchester County will be awarded $3,000,000 under the Lead Hazard Control Grant Program and $2,000,000
under the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program to produce 230 and 158 lead safe units,
respectively. Westchester County will continue to provide services to reduce lead-based paint hazards throughout
the county. Pre-1978 housing units will receive interim controls at an estimated per unit cost of $5,000 to $10,000. Grant funds will also be used in an estimated 30 privately owned, rental and owner-occupied units to finance abatement activities at a maximum cost of $18,000 per unit. Contact: Norma Drummond, Deputy Commissioner
(914) 995-2427.

Environmental Education Associates, Inc. in Buffalo will be awarded $1,999,997 in federal funds that will be
used to leverage an additional $2,200,000 in private resources. The grant will implement a custom-designed training program in which 75 or more contractors will receive lead abatement certification from the Environmental Protection Agency. These resources will be used to produce 400 lead safe housing units in Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara, Jamestown, and Syracuse. Environmental Education Associates will work with a cross section of community leaders, business leaders, lead paint experts, property owners, community developers, and other innovative partners with
the common goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2010. Contact: Andrew McLellan, Grant Director
(716) 833-2929 ext. 111.

Research Foundation of SUNY on behalf of SUNY Potsdam in New York will be awarded $111,285 in federal
funds to conduct outreach in response to the potentially hazardous re-use of salvaged building components in construction and home decor. This award will reach the families and health care community in Oregon and Region X
by mailing an informational brochure, create a website and conduct health care provider interviews. The majority of the work of the program will be undertaken through Community Health Concepts (CHC), a community-based health organization in Oregon and the Presbyterian National Health Ministries Presbyterian Church USA and statewide
Parish Nursing organizations. Contact: Dr. Laurel Sharmer at (315) 267-3136.

West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WEACT) will implement its well-rounded proposal for outreach in eight communities of the City of New York using its $282,960 award. The target areas are Brooklyn, Manhattan, the
Bronx, East Flatbush-Flatbush, and Bedford Stuyvesant-Crown Heights. This grant builds upon HUD's previous lead outreach grant to New York City. This grant involves collaboration among six community-based organizations and
two City agencies through the use of media, workshops, and the dissemination of information that is multi-lingual
and culturally competent. Contact: Ms. Peggy Shepard at (212) 961-1000 ext. 306.

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