Law School forum addresses the continuing threat of lead contamination

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The continuing problem of lead in Western New York homes – a toxin that has been shown to cause developmental impairment in children and health problems in adults – will be the focus of a major conference Friday, April 11, at the University at Buffalo Law School.

The forum, called “No More Toxic Housing: Creative Legal, Policy and Grassroots Solutions for Buffalo and Beyond,” will bring together local activists, academics, community organizers and local, state and federal experts to provide a multifaceted look at addressing lead contamination. Keynote speaker for the conference will be the Rev. Darius G. Pridgen, president of the Buffalo Common Council.

Registration is available through the conference website.

“We have made progress in the Buffalo area on Green and Healthy Homes and lead poisoning in particular,” says Kim Diana Connolly, vice dean for legal skills, who directs the Law School’s clinical program and is one of three instructors of the school’s Healthy Homes Legal Practicum. “We have, however, far to go to have the kind of impact that the citizens of this region deserve, and that can serve as a model for other regions.”

Many of the lead poisoning cases reported in New York State occur in eight ZIP codes in Buffalo. Though local groups have been working together to address this problem for decades, lead toxicity remains a persistent problem despite their efforts. The forum seeks to explore new strategies for homes and communities that can have a broader impact on lead and other toxic housing conditions.

The program is sponsored by the Law School and its Healthy Homes Legal Practicum, the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Neighborhood Legal Services and UB’s Civic Engagement and Public Policy Research Initiative. Students in the Law School practicum provide legal support to the community through various partners through a direct service-learning component, including a placement through Neighborhood Legal Services. In the current academic year, practicum students have assisted 72 households – comprising 102 adults and 63 children – who face unsafe and unhealthy living conditions.

Attorneys who attend the forum are eligible to earn three Continuing Legal Education credits in the area of professional practice.

Among the participants in two panel discussions are:

• Matthew Chachere, staff attorney with the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp.
• Elizabeth McDade, program manager of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, part of the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency.
• Stephanie Simeon, executive director of Heart of the City Neighborhoods.
• Govinda Subedi, a holistic homes caseworker and interpreter for Jericho Road Community Health Center.
• Timothy Hoffman, an assistant attorney general with the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State attorney general’s office.
• Catherine Bullwinkle, a lead program consultant for Oneida County.
• Jane Cameron, an assistant attorney general with the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State attorney general’s office.
• Yvonne McCray, director of housing for the City of Buffalo.
• Martin Nee, director of the Regional Management/Technical Services Division at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes/Lead Hazard Control.
• Deborah Nagin, director of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for the New York City Department of Health.

Since its founding in 1887, the UB Law School – the State University of New York system’s only law school – has established an excellent reputation and is widely regarded as a leader in legal education. Its cutting-edge curriculum provides both a strong theoretical foundation and the practical tools graduates need to succeed in a competitive marketplace, wherever they choose to practice. A special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, public service and opportunities for hands-on clinical education makes the UB Law School unique among the nation’s premier public law schools.