The New York City Housing Authority is now trying to clean up a mess that left thousands of New Yorkers living in homes that were not being checked for lead paint.

The Department of Investigation revealed in November that NYCHA broke city and federal law by not completely carrying out required lead inspections. The city is now providing free lead testing for children living in public housing.

The DOI accused NYCHA of submitting false claims to the government that it had conducted lead inspections in the roughly 55,000 apartments that might have lead paint across the city. The report revealed NYCHA had been failing to "visually assess" those apartments for potential paint hazards for four years.

That resulted in the resignation and punishment of top NYCHA officials, putting the city's housing authority on the hot seat. After the report surfaced, NYCHA hustled to do checks in the apartments.

NYC Health + Hospitals has three hospitals in the Bronx where children can be tested: Lincoln Medical Center, Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital. The test can also be done at community health centers.

Nearly 3,000 children between 6 months and 8 years old are eligible for the testing.