SYRACUSE.COM
By James T. Mulder
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse is turning to Rochester as a role model in tackling a decades-old lead paint problem that leaves hundreds of city youngsters with lead poisoning each year.
Rochester tries to prevent kids from getting lead poisoning by inspecting rental homes for signs of chipping and peeling lead paint.
In Syracuse and most other U.S. cities, those inspections often don’t happen until after a child has been poisoned. Rochester requires interior inspections of rental units.
Paul Driscoll, commissioner of the city’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, has been consulting with Rochester officials for the past year.
He spent a day in Rochester last October with a team of Syracuse officials that included Stephanie Pasquale, Driscoll’s deputy commissioner; Ken Towsley, the city’s director of code enforcement, and Meghan McLees Craner, a city assistant corporation counsel.