Syracuse landlord William D’Angelo has reached a settlement to pay $310,000 for violating lead paint safety laws, resulting in at least 16 children being posisoned, according to the announcement of the New York State Attorney General’s office on Friday, Feb. 9.

D’Angelo owned and managed at least 48 rental properties with 116 units in Syracuse, all of which were built before 1940 and therefore are presumed to have lead-based paint in them, according to the announcement.

The properties are located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, where lead poisoning is most prevalent.

Attorney General Letitia James has been cracking down on lead landlords, who she says are responsible for poisoning children at their rental properties. “William D’Angelo cut corners and failed to address serious lead hazards at his properties, putting countless children and their families in danger,” said James in a news release.

Over the past eight years, there were at least 360 violations of lead safety laws at properties owned by D’Angelo, according to James.

$80,000 of the settlement will go to families of the children who were poisoned by lead while living at D’Angelo’s properties. The remaining $230,000 will go towards identifying and repairing the lead hazards in the 22 properties that D’Angelo owns.

D’Angelo is currently barred from selling any of his properties until the lead hazards have been removed.

“This settlement sends a powerful message to careless landlords: you can’t escape your responsibility to provide a safe and healthy living environment for your tenants,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “In partnership with Attorney General James and County Executive McMahon, we will continue to use the tools and authority we have available to hold bad landlords accountable and protect children and families from the effects of lead exposure.”