Taking New Yorkers Breath Away

Andrew Friedman

Taking New Yorkers Breath Away

Tomorrow morning, Make the Road by Walking will publish a report with the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on the asthma crisis in Bushwick. The report, titled Fighting to Breathe, is based on interviews with more than 500 Brooklyn residents who suffer from asthma.

Among the report's major findings is that Bushwick's elevated rates of asthma are related to unhealthy home environments in Bushwick. The report shows that the great majority of surveyed asthmatics in Bushwick are living in homes with rat, mice, and cockroach infestations as well as mold and excessive dust. According to the study: 69% of asthmatics reported having cockroaches in their homes, 67% of asthmatics reported excessive dust in their homes, 47% of asthmatics reported have rat or mouse infestation in their homes, 30% of asthmatics reported the presence of mold in their homes.

"We are forced to live in unhealthy homes because irresponsible landlords refuse to fumigate and make necessary repairs to our old buildings. Even after taking our landlord to court 4 times, he still refuses to repair our apartment"

said Bushwick resident Veronica Acosta.

My 3 year-old son Christopher and I are both severe asthmatics. We have a big rat problem in the building. One night, a month ago, a rat bit my 8-year-old brother John on the leg. Then, a few months ago, because of a major leak from the second floor bathroom, my bathroom ceiling fell down on us. Now we have a major mold problem in our bathroom".

The report also shows that a great majority of asthmatics in Bushwick improperly treat their asthma. An alarming 59% of Bushwick residents do not use any preventative medicine to control their asthma. In addition, the study shows that few asthmatics in Bushwick use other standard methods for preventing asthma attacks such as asthma action plans, allergy tests, or peak flow meters.

In comparison to other communities, recent statistics by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show that Bushwick and the neighboring community Williamsburg have asthma hospitalization rates 4 times the average of NYC.

"I can't stand to see my 8 year old son Carlos struggle to breathe everyday" said Bushwick resident Aide Dominguez.

To solve this public health crisis, HPD must improve housing code enforcement, and, in particular, crack-down on housing code violations, like mold, that trigger asthma attacks.

Andrew Friedman: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 9:35 AM, Jan 30, 2006 in Housing
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Comments

Do we know what triggers/causes asthma attacks? I think the data here may be a little thin. While neighborhoods with large numbers of poor people have higher rates, why that is so is not clear to me

Dont Worry, Vito Lopez will tear down all the rent controlled buildings and put up luxury condos. End of problem

Daniel, The latest science I've heard has all said that exposure to mold and cockroaches causes many cases of asthma. It's something I've looked into a lot. It's not like poor people are geneticly more likely to get sick. They live in conditions that lead to it.

In response to Mr. Ocasio who commented on this topic but here (http://www.dmiblog.net/archives/2006/02/letter_to_the_editor_of_the_we.html#comments):

There are concrete policy solutions to NYC's asthma epidemic: Increase funding for asthma education and treatment, re-classify asthma triggers as Class C housing code violations, create real accountability for negligent slumlords by passing the Healthy Homes Act to name a few.

That said, Ray Ocasio is right that we shouldn't hold our breathe waiting for Bloomberg to side with tenants over slumlords. Tenants must take action on their own behalf. Rent strikes are great and often effective, but tenants must know that if they are not well-organized and not keeping their rent $ carefully guarded, they can risk eviction. The strategy raises the cost for Bloomberg, but also for the tenants.

Organizing affected tenants, withholding rent when appropriate, and engaging in policy advocacy are all important, mutually complimentary ways to confront this problem.