FYI: Councilmember Bill Perkins’ lead paint removal bill, which hasn’t budged since its introduction last spring, got a sarcastic one-year birthday party from advocates gathered on City Hall steps this morning. Of course, the bill’s really far more than a year old. Perkins’ bill is the reincarnation of former Councilmember Stanley Michels 1997 legislation, which the landlord lobby successfully scuttled. Despite a loud chorus of advocates and Black and Latino Caucus supporters, that bill never got a hearing either, and the Council passed a landlord-supported version instead, Local Law 38. The advocates blame Speaker Gifford Miller for the delay on Perkins’ version, which would repeal Local Law 38 and transfer authority for lead paint abatement to the health department from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Check out the City Limits archive for Annia Ciezadlo’s explanation of the winding road lead paint removal legislation has traveled through the Council. [3/26/03]