The MTA is being hit with yet another class-action lawsuit, this time with 7 train riders accusing the agency of “wrongfully, knowingly, deliberately, intentionally, and as a matter of policy” allowed dangerous lead-based paint chips to fall from ill-maintained 7 train stations in Queens.
According to DNAinfo, Jackson Heights residents and business owners came together, after years of complaining, to hold the agency accountable for creating a “severe health emergency” after an analysis conducted in April found the paint chips to contain almost 50 times the allowable level of lead.
"This isn't something new," said Assemblyman Francisco Moya. "This is a fight that's been continuing for a number of years and it's time to call the MTA out."
The plaintiffs say that conditions are the worst at the elevated structure between 103rd Street and 52nd Street. With the pending lawsuit, the community is hoping that the MTA will finally fulfill their promise to repaint the dilapidated stations.
When contacted by DNAinfo, an MTA spokesperson stated that the agency’s own air quality test didn’t find any unsafe conditions.
Earlier this month, the agency was at the center of another class-action lawsuit alleging that the MTA discriminates against people with disabilities, thanks to a widespread lack of the elevators and electric lifts. Following the lawsuit filing, Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office undertook an audit of a random sample of the subway system’s escalators and elevators and found that a large majority of them weren’t being properly repaired or maintained.