NEW YORK CITY ABATEMENT PROCEDURES

New York City Administrative Code Section 27-2056.11 address abatement practices within the City of New York and provides in relevant part:

a. The department shall promulgate rules, with the approval of the department of health and mental hygiene, establishing work practices to which an owner shall be subject in each of the following circumstances:

(1) where an owner is performing work in order to comply with a notice of violation or order to correct issued by the department pursuant to this article, which shall be no less stringent than the safety standards required by the commissioner of health and mental hygiene whenever such commissioner shall order the abatement of lead-based paint hazards pursuant to section 173.13 of the health code or a successor rule. Such rules shall provide for temporary relocation provided by the owner of the occupants of a dwelling or dwelling unit to appropriate housing when work cannot be performed safely. Such rules shall provide that all such work be performed only by firms which have received certification to perform lead abatement under the regulations issued by the United States environmental protection agency at subpart L of part 745 of title 40 of the code of federal regulations, or any successor regulations.

(2) where an owner, other than in response to an order to correct or notice of violation issued by the department or the department of health and mental hygiene, is performing work that will disturb lead-based paint or paint of unknown lead content in a dwelling unit where a child of applicable age resides or in the common area of the multiple dwelling in which such dwelling unit is located, where such multiple dwelling was erected prior to January first, nineteen hundred sixty, or where the owner has actual knowledge of the presence of lead-based paint and such multiple dwelling was erected on or after January first, nineteen hundred sixty and before January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight.

(i)                 Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, such rules shall incorporate work practices that are no less protective of public health than those set forth in subdivisions d and e of section 173.14 of the health code and those parts of subdivision b of such section applicable thereto or a successor rule, and shall include a requirement that lead-contaminated dust clearance testing be performed at the completion of such work. Such rules shall require that such work be performed by a person who has, at a minimum, successfully completed a course on lead-safe work practices given by or on behalf of the department or, by the United States environmental protection agency or an entity authorized by it to give such course, or by the United States department of housing and urban development or an entity authorized by it to give such course. Such rules shall require temporary relocation provided by the owner of the occupants of a dwelling or dwelling unit to appropriate housing when work cannot be performed safely.

(ii)               Where such work will disturb more than one hundred square feet of lead-based paint or paint of unknown lead content in a room in a multiple dwelling, or will involve the removal of two or more windows with lead-based paint or paint of unknown lead content, such rules shall incorporate work practices that are no less protective of public health than those set forth in subdivisions d and e of section 173.14 of the health code and those parts of subdivision b of such section applicable thereto, or a successor rule, and shall include a requirement that lead-contaminated dust clearance testing be performed at the completion of such work. Such rules shall also require temporary relocation provided by the owner of the occupants of a dwelling or dwelling unit to appropriate housing when work cannot be performed safely. Such rules shall require, in addition, that all such work be performed only by firms which have received certification to perform lead abatement under the regulations issued by the United States environmental protection agency at subpart L of part 745 of title 40 of the code of federal regulations for the abatement of lead hazards, or any successor regulations. Such rules shall also provide that not less than ten days prior to the commencement of such work the owner of the premises, or the firm, shall file with the department of health and mental hygiene a notice of commencement so that the department of health and mental hygiene may, at its discretion, perform sample audits of such notices to determine that the firms performing the work are properly certified. Such notice shall be signed by the owner or by a representative of the firm, and shall be in a form satisfactory to or prescribed by the department of health and mental hygiene, and shall set forth at a minimum the following information:  (a) The address of the multiple dwelling and the specific location of the work within the multiple dwelling.  (b) The name, address and telephone number of the owner of the multiple dwelling in which the work is to be performed.  (c) The name, address and telephone number of the firm which will be responsible for performing the work. (d) The date and time of commencement of the work, working or shift hours, and the expected date of completion; and  (e) Identification of the surfaces and structures, and surface area, subject to the work. The rules shall also provide that any changes in the information contained in the notice shall be filed with the department of health and mental hygiene prior to commencement of work, or if work has already commenced, within twenty-four hours of any change. The rules shall provide that a copy of the notice of commencement shall be posted at the work site.

(iii)             The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply where such work disturbs surfaces of less than (a) two square feet of peeling lead-based paint per room or (b) ten percent of the total surface area of peeling paint on a type of component with a small surface area, such as a window sill or door frame. (3) where an owner is performing work on turnover pursuant to 27-2056.8 of this article. Such rules shall include, but not be limited to, requiring lead-contaminated dust clearance tests at the completion of such work. b. No person shall perform a lead-contaminated dust clearance test pursuant to this section unless such person is a third-party, who is independent of the owner and any individual or firm that performs the work, and has successfully completed a course approved or administered by the department of health and mental hygiene or by the United States environmental protection agency or the United States department of housing and urban development and obtained a certificate or other document issued by or acceptable to the department of health and mental hygiene. c. The department, with the approval of the department of health and mental hygiene, shall promulgate rules requiring that all lead-contaminated dust clearance tests submitted to a laboratory for analysis include a sworn certification that such test was performed in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations and shall include any additional information that the department shall determine is necessary for the administration and enforcement of this section. d. Where an owner is performing work pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision a of this section, all lead-contaminated dust clearance test results shall be filed with the department, and a copy shall be provided by the owner to the occupant of the dwelling unit. Where an owner is performing work pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision a of this section, a copy of all lead-contaminated dust clearance test results shall be provided to the occupant of the dwelling unit. Copies of lead-contaminated dust clearance test results provided to the occupant of the dwelling unit pursuant to this subparagraph shall be in a form satisfactory to or prescribed by the department of health and mental hygiene that provides a sufficiently clear explanation of the meaning of such results.

Lead Paint and Lead Abatement Definitions NYC Admin. Code Sec. 27-2056.2
Whenever used in this article the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) “Chewable surface” shall mean a protruding interior window sill in a dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling where a child of applicable age resides and which is readily accessible to such child. “Chewable surface” shall also mean any other type of interior edge or protrusion in a dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling, such as a rail or stair, where there is evidence that such other edge or protrusion has been chewed or where an occupant has notified the owner that a child of applicable age who resides in that multiple dwelling has mouthed or chewed such edge or protrusion.

(2) “Common area” shall mean a portion of a multiple dwelling that is not within a dwelling unit and is regularly used by occupants for access to and egress from any dwelling unit within such multiple dwelling.

(3) “Deteriorated subsurface” shall mean an unstable or unsound painted subsurface, an indication of which can be observed through a visual inspection, including, but not limited to, rotted or decayed wood, or wood or plaster that has been subject to moisture or disturbance.

(4) “Friction Surface” shall mean any painted surface that touches or is in contact with another surface, such that the two surfaces are capable of relative motion and abrade, scrape, or bind when in relative motion. Friction surfaces shall include, but not be limited to, window frames and jambs, doors, and hinges.

(5) “Impact Surface” shall mean any interior painted surface that shows evidence, such as marking, denting, or chipping, that it is subject to damage by repeated sudden force, such as certain parts of door frames, moldings, or baseboards.

(6) “Lead-based paint hazard” shall mean any condition in a dwelling or dwelling unit that causes exposure to lead from lead-contaminated dust, from lead-based paint that is peeling, or from lead-based paint that is present on chewable surfaces, deteriorated subsurfaces, friction surfaces, or impact surfaces that would result in adverse human health effects.

(7) “Lead-based paint” shall mean paint or other similar surface coating material containing 1.0 milligrams of lead per square centimeter or greater, as determined by laboratory analysis, or by an x-ray fluorescence analyzer. If an x-ray fluorescence analyzer is used, readings shall be corrected for substrate bias when necessary as specified by the performance characteristic sheets released by the United States environmental protection agency and the United States department of housing and urban development for the specific x-ray fluorescence analyzer used. X-ray fluorescence readings shall be classified as positive, negative or inconclusive in accordance with the United States department of housing and urban development “Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing” (June 1995, revised 1997) and the performance characteristic sheets released by the United States environmental protection agency and the United States department of housing and urban development for the specific x-ray fluorescence analyzer used. X-ray fluorescence readings that fall within the inconclusive zone, as determined by the performance characteristic sheets, shall be confirmed by laboratory analysis of paint chips, results shall be reported in milligrams of lead per square centimeter and the measure of such laboratory analysis shall be definitive. If laboratory analysis is used to determine lead content, results shall be reported in milligrams of lead per square centimeter. Where the surface area of a paint chip sample cannot be accurately measured or if an accurately measured paint chip sample cannot be removed, a laboratory analysis may be reported in percent by weight. In such case, lead-based paint shall mean any paint or other similar surface-coating material containing more than 0.5% of metallic lead, based on the non-volatile content of the paint or other similar surface-coating material.

(8) “Lead-contaminated dust” shall mean dust containing lead at a mass per area concentration of 40 or more micrograms per square foot on a floor, 250 or more micrograms per square foot on window sills, and 400 or more micrograms per square foot on window wells, or such more stringent standards as may be adopted by the department of health and mental hygiene.

(9) “Lead-contaminated dust clearance test” shall mean a test for lead-contaminated dust on floors, window wells, and window sills in a dwelling, that is made in accordance with section 27-2056.11 of this article.

(10) “Peeling” shall mean that the paint or other surface-coating material is curling, cracking, scaling, flaking, blistering, chipping, chalking or loose in any manner, such that a space or pocket of air is behind a portion thereof or such that the paint is not completely adhered to the underlying surface.

(11) “Remediation” or “Remediate” shall mean the reduction or elimination of a lead-based paint hazard through the wet scraping and repainting, removal, encapsulation, enclosure, or replacement of lead-based paint, or other method approved by the commissioner of health and mental hygiene.

(12) “Rule” or “rules” shall mean a rule or rules promulgated pursuant to section 1043 of the New York city charter.

(13) “Turnover” shall mean the occupancy of a dwelling unit subsequent to the termination of a tenancy and the vacatur by a prior tenant of such dwelling unit.

(14) “Underlying defect” shall mean a physical condition in a dwelling or dwelling unit that is causing or has caused paint to peel or a painted surface to deteriorate or fail, such as a structural or plumbing failure that allows water to intrude into a dwelling or dwelling unit.

(15) “Window” shall mean the non-glass parts of a window, including but not limited to any window sash, window well, window jamb, window sill, or window molding.

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