Dakota Taylor, 12, (l.) and her mother, Tiesha Jones, inside their apartment in the Bronx. (GREGG VIGLIOTTI/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Public housing tenant Tiesha Jones was heartbroken after learning 4-year-old daughter Dakota — life-long resident of a lead-tainted NYCHA apartment — registered an alarmingly dangerous level of lead in her blood.
On Friday, she received a measure of retribution: A Bronx jury handed down a $57 million verdict against the Housing Authority for its failure to inspect her apartment for lead paint as required.
“I was overjoyed. I was crying nonstop,” said Jones, 38, ripping NYCHA officials as “liars” for insisting despite the evidence that her apartment was lead-free.
“The tenants don’t have any hope here. It’s like we’re an afterthought. They’re ruining our quality of life. They’re ruining our hopes and dreams.”
The huge verdict comes as the Housing Authority and Mayor de Blasio struggle to address revelations that the authority had for years neglected to perform thousands of required lead paint checks in its aging apartments.
Even worse, NYCHA then falsely claimed the work had been performed.
Jones moved into the apartment in the Fort Independence development in the Bronx in 1999. By 2010, she was living there with her six children.
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