Mayor Bill de Blasio's new plan to fight lead poisoning

The federal shutdown may be over, but City Harvest is still helping federal workers. About 900 Transportation Safety Administration workers at LaGuardia Airport will receive food from the nonprofit today because it remains unclear whether they will receive back pay, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The event is a part of a wider effort to help federal employees affected by the shutdown. This includes nine “mobile markets” across the city where they can receive free produce.

“City Harvest is dedicated to helping our neighbors in need, no matter what,” said Jen McLean, the nonprofit’s chief operating officer, in the release. “Without the stability of a regular paycheck for the past month, many New Yorkers have struggled to make ends meet. We want to ensure that no federal workers are forced to choose between things like paying their rent and buying groceries.”

A New York City Council hearing today will discuss city contracts. The Committee on Contracts will discuss an ongoing effort to modernize the city’s antiquated procurements process called the Procurement and Sourcing Solutions Portal (PASSPort). The meeting will take place at 1 p.m. in the committee room on the 16th floor of 250 Broadway in Manhattan. View a livestream here.

Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation has won a $4.77 million contract renewal from the New York City Department of Social Services. The money will fund the Homelessness Prevention Law Project from October 2018 through June 2021, according to the City Record. Central American Legal Assistance will provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrants, per a $310,000 contract with the department.

Asian Americans for Equality will provide legal services for the working poor through June 2019 under a $300,000 deal. Sanctuary for Families has a $200,000 contract to help new immigrants pursue permanent residency and citizenship. A bunch of nonprofits are getting contract renewals to provide housing for homeless families and single adults. QSAC got a $283,970 contract to provide mental health services for children and adolescents on behalf of the city health department.

New York City has a new plan to eliminate childhood lead exposure. LeadFreeNYC aims to screen for the toxin in consumer goods, homeless shelters, and NYCHA apartments, according to a Jan. 28 press release. A report outlines how the city will accomplish this by combining city efforts against lead poisoning, which has been linked to numerous medical and neurological disorders in children. The announcement comes in the wake of reports of the city’s failure to prevent lead exposure in NYCHA housing.

“Childhood lead exposure is preventable – and this is a plan to eliminate it altogether,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at an event announcing the plan. “New York City has driven down the number of kids exposed to lead by 90 percent, and now we will finish the mission. With LeadFreeNYC, we will target every source of exposure, every apartment and every child. We will be there for kids and parents every step of the way, until we drive this problem to zero.”