When the rental house at 119 Kellogg St. in Syracuse flunked its 21st lead paint test, government officials decided to get creative with the out-of-town landlord.
The Onondaga County District Attorney's office brought the first-ever criminal charges against a landlord who had scoffed at the health department's orders to clean up the paint that was poisoning the kids who lived there.
Landlord Mendy Kletzky, of Brooklyn, was charged with a misdemeanor for willful violation of health laws.
More than a year later, Kletzky walked away from Syracuse City Court with no fine and no jail time. He could spend a year in jail if he ignores the health department again within a year.
He also walked away from the house where he owes about $40,000 in property taxes, leaving the city to act as landlord to another vacant home.
The tenant, Rashida Mims, walked away last August with her nine children. Two of the children - ages 4 and 6 - have lead poisoning. Her four-year-old daughter has upper respiratory problems and catches colds easily, her mother said.
The case shows the difficulty of tackling the bigger problem in a city where 11 percent of children tested last year had elevated levels of lead in their blood, 90 percent of homes were built before lead was banned from paint and 61 percent of the homes are rentals.
Lead is a toxin that has no business in the human body. When it flakes and chips in dilapidated homes, children can ingest it. Even low levels of lead can diminish brain function and motor skills. Some scientists have linked lead poisoning to low graduation rates and aggressive behavior, including gun violence.
The house at 119 Kellogg St. was featured in a series of stories in The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com in 2016.
Mims moved into the house in 2014. She said Kletzky promised to fix peeling paint and other problems in the house, but he never did. She called the county health department and requested an inspection, which found high levels of lead.
The county ordered Kletzky to correct the lead hazards. Mims continued to live in the house. The health department reinspected the property 21 times and the problems were not fixed, the DA's office said in court papers.
Eventually, the Social Services Department stopped paying rent on the house and Mims said she was evicted last August. The family lived in a shelter, then found safe housing. The children are tested every six months for elevated lead in their blood, she said.
"He had the opportunity," Mims said. "He never had a late payment of rent. He had enough time and enough money to get it fixed. We were eligible for lead programs, so he could get new windows. I don't know what was on his mind."
Kletzky flew to Syracuse Tuesday to appear in city court. Before a trial could begin, his attorney Emil Rossi and prosecutor Melanie Carden negotiated a deal.
If Kletzky would plead guilty, the court would delay sentencing for one year.
If he stays out of trouble with the health department with the Kellogg Street house and his other Syracuse rental properties, the judge would let the charge go and would replace his name as a defendant with his limited liability company, which really owns the property.
He accepted the deal and pleaded guilty.
Judge Ted Limpert asked Debra Lewis, coordinator of the county's lead program, if Kletzky had taken steps to reduce lead in the house and whether it could be occupied. Lewis said yes.
It is not clear what Kletzky did to reduce lead paint hazards. Lewis declined comment. Kletzky declined comment. His lawyer said he was confident the health department signed off on repairs, but he could not describe the work.
The house at 119 Kellogg St., Syracuse had been cited 21 times for lead paint violations until the Onondaga County District Attorney's office filed criminal charges against the landlord.
No one lives at 119 Kellogg St. and it doesn't appear that anyone could. The front windows are broken. An old television, boxes and boards fill the porch. The front door is covered by a board.
A check of city records shows there are five outstanding housing code violations at the house. The city cited problems with stairs, porches and railings, trash and an overgrown lawn - all problems on the outside of the house.
City inspectors have not been inside. Before the law changed earlier this year, city code inspectors did not have access to inspect inside rental properties. They allowed landlords to check a box to promise there were no code violations inside the house.
When Mims lived there, paint was peeling in sheets from walls and ceilings. There were exposed wires. She said her children saw rats, one of them killed by the family cat in a child's bedroom.
Stephanie Pasquale, commissioner of the city's Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, said the city intends to seize 119 Kellogg St. for unpaid property taxes. Taxes have been delinquent since 2006, county records show.
In about one month, the city will likely transfer the house to the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, a non-profit organization that turns abandoned properties back to productive use. The city of Syracuse has no federal funding for lead abatement.
The Central New York Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization, recently granted $43,750 to help the Land Bank test properties for lead paint hazards.
The judge ordered Kletzky to appear in court again in six months for an update on that property and at least three others he owns in the city. The county health department only knows about those properties because they've also had lead paint violations.
It will take a search of city records to figure out how many other homes Kletzky and his limited liability companies own in Syracuse.
Has your child been poisoned by lead paint in Onondaga County? If you are willing to share your story with Syracuse.com, please send an email to mbreidenbach@syracuse.com.
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