Saturday, December 22, 2012

Rapid Repairs slow & excludes mold remediation

From the Daily News:

...mold has become one of the biggest health hazards after Sandy.

Volunteers working with the Met Council, a social service agency, found that only one in five families is hiring professional mold cleaning services, not surprising given that mold remediation can cost several thousands of dollars.

The rest are either painting over the mold or purchasing cheap and ineffective cleanup kits. Until local and federal relief agencies come up with a solution, people who, like the Gonzalos, can’t afford to have the mold removed are being left to live in toxic homes.

Religious leaders and elected officials are calling on Mayor Bloomberg to add mold remediation to the city’s Rapid Repairs program, which was established to help residential property owners affected by Sandy make emergency repairs including restoration of heat, power and hot water.

A report put out by QCUA says the administration’s relief response has been “slow and inadequate” in Queens: As of December 5 only 174 homes (out of 38,000 homes and businesses on the Rockaway Peninsula) had received help through Rapid Repairs. Over 8,000 more were still waiting to be inspected. Also, QCUA found that health conditions have deteriorated dangerously: “Contamination of homes and air caused by microbial growth due to flooding and a mold epidemic has led to pulmonary problems dubbed the ‘Rockaway Cough.’”

Even worse, the mold problem is not limited to the Rockaways, says Met Council CEO Willie Rapfogel.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mold is the least of your problems.

Being bathed in septic sewage and toxic carcinogens will kill for decades.

Every piece of the waterfront is now a hazmat zone.

I would not even eat in restaurants that have been bathed in this until those questions are cleared up.

Anonymous said...

Bush's fault.

Anonymous said...

can you be more specific re: your comments re: hazmat zone?