City Schools Must Remove PCB-Laden Lights in Five Years

This article was written by Joanna Prisco. 

New York City schools must remove PCB-laden lighting elements and other contaminated fixtures within the next five years, it was announced on Wednesday. Elected officials and community members were unanimous in celebrating the victory.

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and New York Communities for Change effectively forced the New York City Department of Education to speed up its timeline for replacement of PCB-laden fixtures in schools, which was originally projected to take a decade.
“The 10 year timeframe that the City had proposed for cleaning up these toxic chemicals was contemptible, but today’s settlement will finally move the clean up process forward in an expeditious manner,” said Congressman Jose Serrano in a statement. 

Together with Joseph Crowley and Jerrold Nadler, Congressman Serrano had been an advocate for PCB removal since it was determined that they were legion throughout NYC schools. 

“Parents should never have to question if the school where their children spend their days might actually make their children sick," Crowley said. 

"I believe that we are truly seeing justice done in this settlement," said Congressman Nadler. "The City's 10 year timeframe placed hundreds of vulnerable schoolchildren and staff at risk of exposure to toxic chemicals, and was—in a word—unacceptable." 

Comptroller John C. Liu also released a stament in response to the news, reminding city dwellers that the removal of the toxic lighting elements will be done in an eco-friendly way. 

"The settlement of this suit through the City’s agreement to an accelerated timeline for ridding our schools of toxic PCBs is a win all around," said Liu in a statement. "We stand ready to work with City Hall to finance the capital projects necessary with Green Apple Bonds, which would pay for the rapid cleanup of these chemicals while saving taxpayers $339 million and lowering the City’s carbon footprint. Now is the time.”