Elliot Lewis is moving out of The Dietz apartment building on the western edge of downtown Syracuse.

"We're just not happy with the way the management has handled this whole thing," Lewis said.

Renovations started Monday to get rid of lead that was discovered — but Lewis is not willing to stick around, and he's not alone. Another tenant who asked not to be identified says he's leaving for his family's health.

"My wife has an auto-immune disease, and her doctor said that regardless of the amount of lead in your apartment, you should move out."

Lewis is leaving at the end of the month. He says the next few weeks don't worry him as much as the next few years.

"Short-term, I feel fine, my concern would be the long-term health effects of remaining in a building that has tested for the presence of lead," Lewis said.

He says he just found out about the lead last month. When he got in touch with the building's management to change his lease, Lewis says he was asked to sign a liability waiver and a non-disclosure agreement.

"Not only do you do you move out because of the lead problem," Lewis said, "you're not supposed to warn anybody else that there might be a lead problem in the building. Well, that's just absurd."

Spectrum News spoke with Paulus Development, the company that manages the building. They say the lease modification "was not intended to preclude people from discussing the presence of lead on the property" and that they struggle with Lewis' interpretation of that agreement. They also responded with a statement saying the following:

“During the 2016 renovation and conversion of the R.E. Dietz Lantern Factory, we retained an independent, certified lead paint surveyor to conduct a lead-based paint inspection of the property. Lead-based paint was detected. It was addressed using standard construction practices. The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 requires the disclosure of information on lead-based paint to tenants occupying housing that was constructed before 1978. This information was disclosed to our residential tenants immediately after we were made aware of the requirement on March 4, 2019."

On the other hand, the language from the 2016 report reads: "Since lead-based paint was identified, a copy of that report must be provided to new lessees under federal law before they become obligated under a lease."

This construction is also addressing a second survey that found lead containing dust. Of the 1,000 samples taken, Paulus says only seven percent of those contained more lead than complies with EPA standards.