Bushwick public schools are amongst others struggling to eradicate high levels of lead found in sinks, faucets, and water fountains. After undergoing testing, and remediation in 2016, many re-tests during the 2018-2019 school year revealed new instances of elevated lead levels, despite programs that were designed to eliminate lead from schools years ago, according to a letter from Bushwick’s District 32 Community Education Council.

In many cases, these updated reports arrived shortly after letter notices had been sent to parents assuring that the NYC Department of Education had “successfully completed remediation work.”

Amid the growing health crisis, the District 32 Community Education Council highlighted as an example three local schools in a letter to NYC DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza, and NYC DOH Commissioner Oxiris Barbot, pleading to allocate funds towards a complete and thorough lead eradication.