Politics
New York Is Fed Up With a Deluge of Unpaid Water Bills
Roughly one out of every nine of the city’s water ratepayers is behind on payments. The Department of Environmental Protection needs the money.
Good morning. It’s Monday. We’ll look at the latest chapter in the city’s crackdown on unpaid water bills. We’ll also find out about a plan to reopen a landmark movie theater on the Upper West Side.
The Cross River Reservoir is part of the Croton Watershed, which feeds the New York City water system.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Water, that most basic necessity, is not free: New York City charges property owners a little less than 5 cents per cubic foot — just short of seven and a half gallons’ worth.
Those who are billed — homeowners, landlords or co-op or condo boards — are supposed to pay up. But roughly one out of every nine of the city’s water ratepayers is behind on payments.
The city began a crackdown on water bill delinquents in March. This summer Dana Rubinstein, who covers city government for the Metro desk, reported on a hypocrisy: The biggest delinquent of all was New York State. And last week a lawsuit filed by Legal Services NYC accused the city of targeting homeowners who are aging, taking care of young children or coping with serious medical problems. The lawsuit said the city was defying regulations intended to protect vulnerable people.
I asked Dana to explain the city’s push to collect on overdue water bills.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the crackdown in front of a boutique hotel that the city said owed $372,206 for water. But the city hasn’t just targeted commercial property owners and large landlords, has it?
