Residents say elevated subway station on Brighton Beach is testing positive for lead paint, which falls onto cars and businesses
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CBSNews: Residents say elevated subway station on Brighton Beach is testing positive for lead paint, which falls onto cars and businesses
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NEW YORK - Anytime passersby look up along Brighton Beach Avenue, peeling paint hangs off the old elevated subway line's beams, pillars and platforms.
"When the train passes, even on a quiet day, the paint will be falling down on the cars, on people passing by, and on the fruit stand, on food that we eat," says local resident Angela Kravtchenko.
Long considering it an eyesore, recently Kravtchenko's curiosity took over, so she purchased a lead paint testing kit online.
"I picked up four chips of paint, and three of four showed extreme amounts of lead and one was clear," she says.
Brighton Beach Avenue is a busy commercial strip with produce markets, outdoor dining, schools and nearby playgrounds.
That's why Vernikov, a Republican, joined with Democratic State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton in a bipartisan effort. They wrote a letter to the MTA, calling on the agency to immediately conduct lab testing.
"We've done a lot at the state level to make sure that landlords are required to do lead remediation in their buildings. And I think it's time that we hold the MTA accountable to do the same, especially for these elevated stations," says Scarcella-Spanton.
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