Child poisoned as NYC special education classrooms lag in lead-paint inspections

Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay

Weather: ⛅ Partly cloudy, highs in the mid 80s.

It's Wednesday in New York City, where Miguelina Rodriguez's 5-year-old son, who has autism and is nonverbal, suddenly started chewing on walls and windowsills in his home and classroom last fall, according to his mom and teacher.

A few months later, the Bronx student was diagnosed with severe lead poisoning, which can cause children to become aggressive, hyperactive and, when the source is old lead paint, to seek out more of it because the painted surfaces often taste sweet.

City law requires the education department to conduct lead-paint inspections three times a year in all classrooms serving children under 6 years of age in older school buildings.

But a Gothamist analysis of the most recently available city data shows the boy’s classroom hadn't been inspected since at least 2019 — and classrooms serving children with special education needs are less likely to be inspected overall than general education classrooms.

Here's what else is happening:

• We only have a week of post-8 p.m. summer sunsets left. Enjoy it.
• What's that smell near the entrance to Sunset Park at 41st Street and Sixth Avenue? It's the de facto garbage dump the parks department has created to handle all the trash collected each weekend.
• An inspection blitz targeting firms tied to the near-collapse of a major office-to-housing conversion on East 42nd Street has uncovered safety lapses at 19 worksites, according to a new report.
• Gov. Kathy Hochul is condemning the conduct of an ICE agent who pepper-sprayed a 72-year-old woman in the face during a street encounter in New York City.
  • Immigrant rights activists say ICE activity is surging across New York state.
• A former top official in the Mount Vernon Police Department has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly acting as a getaway driver for her son after he allegedly opened fire on a group of people near a Bronx courthouse.
• The heavy police presence at last weekend's Summer Streets event marks the latest NYPD surge under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

• The sanitation department has begun slapping bright green stickers on cars that aren't moved for street sweeping. (The shame sticker also comes with a $65 ticket.)
• New York City food banks are getting an influx of over 280,000 eggs following a settlement with egg distributors who'd been illegally overcharging.
• Marketing professional Kirk Skodis isn't the first person to suggest replacing Central Park's horse-drawn carriages with electric carriages, but he does appear to have come to the idea independently and with great enthusiasm. 
• Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin doesn't seem to be moving his company to Miami, after all.
• Happy retirement to esteemed PIX11 anchor Kaity Tong.
• Bring your own birthday cake to a New Jersey restaurant and find out.
• The Downtown Brooklyn Hoodwill: It's not legal, but it's cheap.