Paterson getting $2M more for dangerous lead paint removal

PATERSON — The city is getting another $2 million in state funding to address the health problem of lead-based paint in homes.

The Paterson Alliance nonprofit group on Monday announced that it was awarded the grant from the state’s Lead Remediation and Abatement Program. Earlier in July, the Paterson-based New Jersey Community Development Corporation also highlighted its $1.98 million grant for lead paint removal.

The alliance is going to hire three people to work on the lead program. Shanikwa Lemon, the nonprofit’s manager, said she hopes by October to send teams of workers to canvass neighborhoods with high concentrations of lead-based paint to find residents to participate in the program.

Lemon said the target areas would include the Northside in the 1st Ward, Lafayette and Keen streets and Rosa Parks Boulevard in the 4th Ward, and the area between Union and Crosby avenues in the 2nd Ward.

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The grant will allow the Paterson Alliance to do lead paint remediation in 90 homes at a cost of about $11,666 apiece and lead abatement in 10 homes at a cost of about $25,000 each, Lemon said.

“This grant is an important step towards ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our children,” Lemon said. “We need to take immediate action to inform the public of the dangers of lead and to remediate the places where lead and children intersect.”

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs program is providing $180 million statewide.

“The work to remediate lead and to improve the lives of children and families is a universal mission for our members and the nonprofit community as a whole,” said alliance board President Richard Williams.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson getting $2M more for dangerous lead paint removal