The city will spend $400,000 in pandemic relief funds and an undisclosed amount donated by the NoVo foundation to remove hazardous lead paint from the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center. The announcement comes seven months after a concerned parent sounded the alarm about high levels of lead in a section of the building where the city hosts a wintertime indoor play-space for pre-school age children.

Located at 467 Broadway, the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center is a sprawling brick former New York State armory built in 1880. The building serves as headquarters for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and hosts community events and programs for children and adults. During the winter months the center hosts a twice-a-week “Replace the Parks” drop-in program for children.

In January, Kingston resident Lee Kelly became alarmed when she noticed peeling paint on the walls of the center after she brought her children to the indoor playground. Kelly arranged to have lead tests conducted at the site. Those tests, carried out by a private contractor hired by Kelly, revealed unsafe levels of lead on the walls, floor and other areas of the play space. In February, the Ulster County Health Department conducted its own tests which found unsafe lead levels at 12 separate locations including door jambs, windowsills and walls. In some cases the lead levels exceeded 30 times the amount considered safe under EPA guidelines. In all 12 locations inspectors noted that the paint was in poor condition. County inspectors recommended that the city hire an outside consultant to conduct further analysis and come up with an abatement plan. Lead paint is a known contaminant and a leading cause of lead exposure in children. Lead exposure has been linked to serious neurological conditions, leaning difficulties and other issues in children.

Mayor Steve Noble initially downplayed the threat posed by the peeling lead paint. Noble noted that 75 percent of buildings built before 1978 had some lead paint in them and that in most cases the issue could be addressed through routine maintenance without a full abatement process. Noble added that maintenance staff at the neighborhood center had lead abatement certification and routinely sanitized the play-space.

“Children are not exposed to lead paint chips or lead dust as they are supervised 100 percent of the time during our programming,” Noble said back in February. “As a parent, I assure you I would never jeopardize the health or safety of children.”

Nonetheless, by this spring, signs had been posted around the center warning of lead paint. Now, Noble said, the city is planning a full lead abatement project for the center. The work will be overseen by Wappingers Falls-based Quality Environmental Solutions & Technologies while United Safety of Lincoln Park New Jersey will carry out the abatement work. R. Bradley Construction of Kingston will serve as general contractor and carry out restoration work once the abatement is completed.

In a statement announcing the project Noble said that site preparation and mobilization was already underway and work was expected to begin in earnest on August 5. The lead abatement portion of the project will start on August 19. While the work is underway the main entrance to the center and gymnasium will be closed by the Parks and Recreation and other city offices in the building will remain accessible via alternative entryways. Following the lead abatement project additional work including the installation of new bleachers and play equipment will continue before wrapping up in December, Noble said. The project will be funded using $400,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act award. Noble statement said that additional support would come from the NoVo foundation. Emails to Noble asking about NoVo’s involvement were not returned.

“We are grateful to be able to make these improvements to the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center and appreciate NoVo in Kingston’s support,” said Noble. “We will be working to complete this project in a safe, efficient, and timely manner so we can get the building back open to the public as soon as possible.”