The city is testing for lead contamination in a five-story building near the site of last months’s deadly East Harlem gas explosion — after The Post revealed that residents were complaining of dangerously high levels of the potentially toxic substance.
Department Housing and Preservation Development workers on Friday descended on 89 E. 116 St. a day after tenants filed a lawsuit blasting the city and landlord for failing to do a proper clean-up before allowing them back into their apartments.
Nearby residences and businesses were evacuated following the March 12 explosion that leveled two building and killed eight people.
“We had inspectors out at the building earlier today doing the move-in inspections. Whenever an inspector observes a child six years old or younger in the apartment at the time of inspection, the law requires HPD to do a room-by-room, surface-by-surface inspection for paint that is not intact,” HPD said in a statement.
“Inspectors observed children of that age range in Apts. 8 & 11 and performed the inspection and observed paint that was not intact. HPD will be sending our Lead Unit to those two (2) apartments to test for lead paint.”
An environmental consultant for the tenants had already conducted tests of dust that found 420 micrograms of lead per square foot in one apartment — more than 10 times the 40 micrograms deemed hazardous by the federal government.
In a second unit, lead registered at 220 micrograms per square foot, or five times acceptable levels.
Meanwhile, Manhattan Civil Court Judge Peter Wendt set a hearing for May 5 on the lawsuit.