New York City Launches Mold-Elimination Program in Public Housing

Indoor air quality is key in protecting the health of facility residents. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is launching a US$50 million program this month to clean and modernize ventilation systems in the more than 300 apartment complexes it maintains, the New York Daily News reports.

Public housing residents have been complaining of poor indoor air due to mold and other debris inside building ventilation systems. NYCHA officials say vents in 10,000 apartments have been cleaned in recent years due to resident complaints. But this program is the first time the authority has conducted a thorough cleaning of all public housing ventilation systems.

The program also includes air system maintenance, such as replacing malfunctioning belt-driven roof fans with belt-free, direct drive fans. The current fans are intended to push fresh air through the ducts and into people’s apartments but about 10,000 have broken down through the years.

The entire ventilation cleaning and maintenance job is expected to be complete in 2022.

Mold has an issue in New York City public housing for at least a decade. In 2013 a community group sued the city for housing people with asthma in mold-infested apartments. NYCHA settled the suit in 2014.

Don’t let mold become a problem in the facilities you maintain. Follow three steps to implement a strategy for cleaning your buildings’ vents and indoor air systems.