Brooklyn Reader: Bushwick Subway Stations Contain Hazardous Levels of Lead, Local Business Owner Says

This was a months long investigative piece on the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), after a local business owner claimed to have found paint chips with high levels on subway structures in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The samples, tested by Schneider Laboratories Global Inc., came back showing high levels of lead, ranging from 15,800 to 63,000 parts per million, or more than 12 times the legal limit for lead paint. According to the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, 5,000 parts per million is when lead abatement would be required.

Bushwick Daily: ‘It’s Getting Worse’: Bushwick Residents Overwhelmed by Rampant Trash Problem

Bushwick, Brooklyn was one of the many immigrant communities in New York City severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The residents I interviewed said that because of the slashed $106 million budget of New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the neighborhood was overwhelmed with piles of trash and overflowing waste baskets.