Rensselaer County to target 115 homes for lead paint removal with $4.4M HUD grant
CBS 6 News| By Emma Quinn
Published September 6, 2026
RENSSELAER COUNTY, NY (WRGB) — This week, Rensselaer County received its third installment of federal funding for lead paint removal in aging homes.
The county applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant is for $4,410,012.82 and will continue to help remove lead paint from homes across Rensselaer County.
“Through this program and through it we do the lead remediation where we identified lead hazards, abatement of friction surfaces, so replacing windows, which is one of the leading causes of child lead poisoning,” said Richard Elder, the county Director of Environmental Health.
The county used a grant from two years ago to remediate 66 homes. With the $4.4 million, the goal is to help 115 homes over four years.
“Pre-1978, when the lead safety laws were passed, all houses predominantly used lead paint. So, this is going to affect anyone who has a home probably pre-1980,” said Leonard Claus, County Director of Public Health.
Health advocates say lead paint continues to affect communities all across the state.
“It’s still in New York City, there is still lead paint in Albany, it’s still in Buffalo. There’s issues everywhere,” said Gabrielle Gonzales, NY Clean & Healthy, Environmental Justice and Health Project Manager
County leaders say homeowners can call the Department of Health to sign up for the voluntary lead inspection programs to identify what remediation is needed.
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