NY Senator Releases Report Detailing Poor Air Quality In Subsidized Buildings

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- State Sen. Jeff Klein has released his list of New York City buildings with the worst air quality.

Klein's office looked at more than 2,500 subsidized buildings and found 2,700 air quality violations within those buildings, according to the report released Thursday.

Klein told 1010 WINS many of the problem buildings have what he called unscrupulous landlords, who allow mold and pests to go unchecked.

The senator's office said poor indoor air quality can lead to an increase in health risks to residents, especially those with respiratory illnesses.

"...Mold, cockroaches, rats, mice, bedbugs -- these are different types of things that clearly exacerbate existing diseases, like asthma," he said.

Klein also warned that bad air quality can sometimes aide in the prevalence of Legionnaires' Disease, which can be deadly for people with underlying medical conditions.

Now, Klein is calling on New York City Housing Preservation and Development to start a task force to investigate the air quality in buildings, and outlined certain buildings where the task force should start.

"I'm not saying they shouldn't look at other buildings around our city, but at the same time, we know where the problems exist. We know where the air quality is very poor and people are most susceptible," Klein said.