Caption

Perez v. New York City Housing Authority, 304 A.D.2d 736, 757 N.Y.S.2d 799 (2d Dep’t 2003) — Second Department decision on Department of Health lead-paint findings in later NYCHA litigation, and on summary judgment where causation and injury remained disputed.

This firm litigated Perez for the plaintiffs. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What the Second Department held

NYCHA’s motion for summary judgment was denied. The plaintiffs’ cross-motion on liability was also denied. Questions of fact on causation and injury remained for trial. The decision did not resolve liability for either side.

The Second Department also agreed with the trial court that the Department of Health’s final determination of 80 lead-paint violations in the subject apartment should be afforded collateral estoppel effect under the circumstances presented — NYCHA had failed to properly contest that determination under the Department’s rules.

Whether any one child’s claim succeeds still depends on the facts of that case. Reported decisions such as Perez address how Department of Health lead findings can affect later litigation; they do not decide the next family’s outcome.

What belongs on the NYCHA page vs this note

Practical guidance for NYCHA families — what to photograph, how to report, Self-Service Portal and Customer Contact Center steps, and where Notice of Claim timing questions fit — stays on the firm’s NYCHA public housing page.

This note covers only what Perez held and what one appellate decision can and cannot tell a family about its own case.

More on collateral estoppel

The firm’s longer article explains the doctrine and the Department of Health’s Order to Abate, including the limited time a landlord has to contest it, and uses Perez as a case study. For that fuller treatment, see collateral estoppel and its application in housing and health law.

What this means for parents

Keep Health Department papers, inspection and abatement records, and any NYCHA correspondence about lead or repairs. For what to photograph, report, and keep in NYCHA housing, see the firm’s NYCHA public housing page. Deadlines can turn on who owns or runs the building — for City, NYCHA, and school notice rules, see time limits. Some of those deadlines are short.

For the firm’s summary of major New York lead decisions, including Perez and other appellate rulings, see landmark cases. J.A. v. Mandy Associates, a 2025 First Department decision, focuses on the kind of question Perez left for trial: whether lead exposure caused a child’s claimed injuries. For how notice and negligence work against a private landlord, see landlord liability.

Talk with the firm

Call The Frankel Law Firm at (212) 888-5100. There is no fee to speak with us or for us to evaluate your potential case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Lead poisoning lawyer.

Related pages

• NYCHA public housing
• Landmark cases
• Time limits
• Lead poisoning lawyer
• Landlord liability
• J.A. v. Mandy Associates

What parents see on dust-wipe reports

A dust wipe collects dust from a measured surface area. The lab reports lead loading in µg/ft². Reports usually break out floors, window sills, and window wells — EPA materials often call that last surface a window trough; it is the same category parents see on clearance and assessment paperwork.

How an inspector takes a wipe, how XRF testing differs, and what to expect during testing are covered on testing paint and dust for lead.

Current New York City dust-lead levels

Since June 1, 2021, the City Health Code has set these dust-lead levels, following Local Law 66 of 2019:

• Floors — 5 µg/ft²
• Window sills — 40 µg/ft²
• Window wells — 100 µg/ft²

These are the levels that apply to City clearance dust wipes and to Health Department risk assessments. How clearance testing fits into Local Law 1 is covered in the Local Law 1 guide.

The City’s Board of Health has moved to lower all three levels. Until a new standard takes effect, 5, 40, and 100 remain the City’s levels. A change would apply only from the effective date the City sets, so check the sample date on your report and ask which standard the inspector used.

EPA residential dust-lead levels

EPA’s final rule under TSCA sections 402 and 403, announced in October 2024, renamed its two dust-lead standards and lowered both:

• Dust-lead reportable levels (formerly called dust-lead hazard standards) — for floors and window sills, any reportable level measured by a laboratory recognized under EPA’s National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program.
• Dust-lead action levels (post-abatement; formerly clearance levels) — floors 5, window sills 40, window troughs 100 µg/ft².

EPA’s news release states that the updated post-abatement action levels (5 / 40 / 100) reflect standards New York City implemented in 2021. Numerically, EPA’s action levels match the City’s current 5/40/100 clearance figures. EPA’s reportable (hazard-identification) bar is stricter in concept — any laboratory-reportable amount on floors or sills.

The rule took effect January 13, 2025. In lead-based paint programs EPA runs directly, which include New York’s, compliance with the new levels began January 12, 2026. EPA says the change is not retroactive: work that passed clearance under the old levels does not have to be retested.

Reference and compliance — not a lawsuit trigger

The CDC blood lead reference value is 3.5 µg/dL. That figure identifies children with higher blood-lead levels than most U.S. children. It is not a health-based “safe” cutoff and not a lawsuit trigger.

The same is true of City and EPA dust numbers. They are benchmarks for clearance and hazard assessments. A result above or below the floor, sill, or well level does not, by itself, prove that a landlord is legally responsible or guarantee a recovery. A failed wipe is one piece of evidence, not automatic liability.

What this means for parents and tenants

Keep the full lab report, including the surface label for each sample (floor, sill, and well or trough) and the date it was taken, along with any letters from HPD or the Health Department. Ask which standard the inspector compared the results against. If the numbers are high, or the landlord says the work is finished but has not shared clearance results, ask for the paperwork in writing and keep a copy of your request.

Next steps after a child’s blood-lead result or an apartment inspection are covered in what to do now. Legal deadlines depend on the facts, including who owns the building, and some are short; time limits explains how they work.

Need a New York lead poisoning lawyer? Call The Frankel Law Firm about dust-wipe results, clearance paperwork, or a child’s blood-lead result.

There is no fee to speak to us or for us to evaluate your potential case. Learn what a lead poisoning lawyer can do for your family.

Primary sources

• DOHMH — New Lead in Dust Standards for New York City (effective June 1, 2021): lead-in-dust PDF
• HPD — Catching Up with HPD: April 2021 (clearance 5 / 40 / 100 on/after June 1, 2021): HPD April 2021
• EPA — Hazard Standards and Clearance Levels (TSCA 402/403; Oct 2024 final rule): EPA hazard standards page
• EPA news release — EPA Strengthens Standards… (Oct 24, 2024): EPA news release
• EPA — FAQ on the November 12, 2024 final rule (compliance January 12, 2026 in EPA-run programs, including New York; not retroactive): EPA FAQ
• NYC Health Code Article 173 (§ 173.14 dust-lead levels): Health Code Article 173
• NYC Rules — Amendment of Rules Relating to Lead Dust (current status): NYC Rules status page
• CDC — blood lead reference value (3.5 µg/dL): CDC BLRV page

Related pages

• Testing and XRF
• Local Law 1 guide
• What to do now
• Lead poisoning lawyer
• Time limits

Caption

Juarez v. Wavecrest Management Team Ltd., 88 N.Y.2d 628, 672 N.E.2d 135, 649 N.Y.S.2d 115 (1996) — Court of Appeals decision on landlord liability for lead-based paint in New York City.

This firm was counsel for the plaintiffs in Juarez. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Child-in-unit notice

The Court held that to establish liability plaintiffs must show the building owner had actual or constructive notice that a child six years of age or under was living in one of its residential units. A landlord with such notice is chargeable with notice of any hazardous lead condition in that unit.

That notice frame is the starting point for many New York City lead claims against private landlords. It is not a finding about any particular building, and it is not a promise about another family’s case.

Not absolute liability — reasonableness

Violation of Local Law 1 does not result in absolute liability. Whether a landlord satisfied its duty to remedy a hazardous lead condition is governed by a standard of reasonableness.

In plain terms for parents: proving a Local Law 1 violation is not the same as an automatic win. Notice, the landlord’s response, and the rest of the negligence case still matter. For how notice and negligence work in a lead claim against a landlord, see the firm’s page on landlord liability.

Juarez-era Local Law 1 vs today

Juarez applied the earlier Local Law 1, not Local Law 1 of 2004. Housing obligations today are governed principally by Local Law 1 of 2004 — see the firm’s Local Law 1 guide for the current rules.

What this means for parents

Keep records of who lived in the unit and when a young child was there; photos of peeling paint and dust; Health Department papers; and any word from the landlord about lead or repairs. Deadlines can turn on who owned or ran the building — for City, NYCHA, and school notice rules, see time limits. Some of those deadlines are short.

For the firm’s summary of major New York lead decisions, including Juarez and later appellate rulings, see landmark cases. J.A. v. Mandy Associates, a 2025 First Department decision, addresses a different question: whether lead exposure caused the child’s claimed injuries.

Talk with the firm

Call The Frankel Law Firm at (212) 888-5100. There is no fee to speak with us or for us to evaluate your potential case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Lead poisoning lawyer.

Related pages

• Landmark cases
• Landlord liability
• Lead poisoning lawyer
• Local Law 1 guide
• Time limits
• J.A. v. Mandy Associates

Two tracks under Local Law 1

Under Administrative Code § 27-2056.8 (Local Law 1 of 2004 framework), when a covered dwelling unit is vacated and will be re-occupied by someone other than the owner or the owner’s family, the owner must remediate lead-based paint hazards and underlying defects; make bare floors, windowsills, and window wells smooth and cleanable; and address friction surfaces on doors, door frames, and windows (remove or permanently cover lead-based paint, or use window channel or slide replacements as the section allows). Firm and HPD materials tie the modern turnover start to the August 2, 2004 framework date.

Occupied / child-residing duties are a separate track. HPD states that owners must remove lead-based paint from doors and windows (and make other required repairs) when apartments become vacant or when a child under six comes to reside or routinely spends 10 or more hours per week in the unit. Local Law 123 of 2023 amended § 27-2056.8 so friction abatement timing can also run in child-occupied pre-1960 units without waiting for the next turnover. Local Law 123 schedules that occupied-unit work for pre-1960 multiple dwellings by the earlier of turnover, July 1, 2027 when a child under six resides as of January 1, 2025, or within three years after a child under six begins to reside later — still without waiting for the next vacancy. Prefer the statute and current HPD pages over secondary summaries.

The vacancy work list and related rules are set out under turnover provisions. The Local Law 1 statute overview is in the Local Law 1 guide.

What landlords must document

HPD lease and commencement guidance expects owners to give the Lead Paint Hazards in the Home pamphlet and to certify on the notice that required turnover work was completed before new occupancy. The notice also appears at lease renewal. Tenants may request documentation that the work was done.

Owners must use certified workers and safe work practices, and HPD lead pages commonly describe retaining records for at least ten years. HPD audits and Record Production Orders expect a compliance file — not a verbal assurance that “the apartment was done.”

Missing paperwork is not, by itself, an automatic civil recovery. New York lead premises claims still turn on reasonableness and notice under the framework discussed on landlord liability. Gaps in the file can matter as evidence; they do not rewrite that framework.

Turnover paperwork vs child-occupied duties

Think of the difference this way:

• Turnover (vacancy) track — work and certification tied to a vacated unit that will be re-occupied by a new household; pamphlet + notice certification before occupancy; retain the file.
• Child-occupied track — duties that can arise while someone already lives there, including when a child under six comes to reside or spends 10+ hours per week; Local Law 123 can move friction abatement without waiting for the next vacancy.

A building can face both tracks over time. A clean turnover file does not erase later child-occupied duties, and a child in residence does not erase the need for turnover work the next time the unit turns over. The vacancy work list itself is covered under turnover provisions.

What tenants and parents can ask for

Ask for the lead pamphlet and the owner’s certification that required turnover work was completed before you moved in. At renewal, ask again for the current notice. If work was claimed, ask for documentation — contractor credentials, invoices, clearance or dust wipe records if they exist, and photographs if the owner kept them. Keep copies of what you receive and of what you asked for in writing.

After a blood-lead result or peeling paint, what to do now covers practical next steps. Time limits addresses claim timing; day counts are not listed here.

Need a New York lead poisoning lawyer? Call The Frankel Law Firm about missing turnover certification, child-occupied duties, or a child’s blood-lead result.

There is no fee to speak with us or for us to evaluate your potential case. Lead poisoning lawyer.

Primary sources

• HPD — Lead-Based Paint hub: nyc.gov HPD lead page
• Admin. Code Article 14 / § 27-2056.8 (Local Law 1 as amended; Local Laws 122, 123, and 127 of 2023 listed on the HPD hub)
• Turnover work list: Turnover provisions

Related pages

• Turnover provisions
• Local Law 1 guide
• Landlord liability
• Lead poisoning lawyer
• What to do now
• Time limits