Exactly as predicted (see Dec. 15, Feb. 13): “Two months before it goes into effect on Aug. 2, the city’s new lead-paint legislation has caused nonprofit groups and private developers to shelve plans to redevelop buildings for low- and moderate-income tenants. … Frank Anelante, president of Lemle & Wolf, a developer and manager of lower-income apartments, primarily in the Bronx, said he had halted the rehabilitation of two five-story walk-ups in upper Manhattan because the procedures required by the law made apartment reconstruction impractical.” According to John M. McCarthy, executive vice president of the Community Preservation Corporation, the largest provider of mortgages for the city’s older midsize apartment buildings, the new law “leaves owners extremely vulnerable to damages in a lawsuit. We can’t provide mortgages under those circumstances unless the owner is able to get insurance at a reasonable cost.” (Alan S. Oser, “Lead-Paint Law Frustrates Plans for Low-Income Housing”, New York Times, May 28).