Harlem used to be a tough New York City neighborhood. Now young people are rushing to buy apartments in that part of Manhattan because it is sometimes still affordable. Times are changing.

But for children under the age 13, the news is not as promising. A recently released study shows that 25% of them suffer from asthma. This is the highest percentage thus far recorded for any American neighborhood.

No one is sure exactly why so many kids are sick in Harlem. Many blame all the cars, buses, and trucks. And they also suggest that kids who live with smokers are the most at risk, which is not by itself astonishing.

Recent studies have also linked urban asthma with the presence of mice and roaches. Mice urine and roach excrement may very well trigger allergic reactions and asthma. Perhaps this is part of what is going on in Harlem as well.

Whatever the cause, or more likely causes, urban areas have long been regarded as childhood asthma havens. This just confirms what many have long believed.

Asthma is a debilitating, but controllable disease. Of course, avoiding asthma triggers, when possible, is the best way to deal with the disease. How do you keep city kids away from buses, cars and trucks? That is not realistic.

These children deserve our help. It is not fair that the price of being an urban child is a higher risk of becoming chronically ill. These children are entitled to more.

Urban kids and their parents are often poorer than others, and consequently have a shorter political reach. As we now face the prospect of heavy government cost cutting, special care is in order to ensure that these sick children are not left behind.

We know that some things can be done for these children. According to the Asthma Regional Council (ARC) of New England, the following measures should be taken to make home indoor air quality better:

1. Keep the home as dry as possible. Moisture encourages mold.
2. Keep the home as clean as possible. Dust leads to allergic reactions and dirt attracts pests.
3. Provide ample ventilation to help reduce excess humidity and airborne contaminants.
4. Avoid exposure to combustion products, such as carbon monoxide, which have adverse health consequences.
5. Keep out pests and toxic chemicals. Toxic chemicals lead to many illnesses.
6. Finally one that I have never considered before. Keep the home comfortable, since uncomfortable homes make people take actions that make a home unhealthy. For example, if people are cold, they won't ventilate their home. If people are dry or hot, they will often open windows and/or add moisture (humidify) to the point of producing mold.

Some things can be done to reduce urban asthma. But 25% is a very high, very unfortunate number. It is unfair that so many kids are affected.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.