Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference outside a Bay Ridge home this afternoon to announce the proposal of a $183 summer credit on the water and sewer bills of over 664,000 homeowners.
He was joined outside a home near 79th Street and Colonial Road on Monday, April 25 by Councilmember Vincent Gentile, Borough President Eric Adams, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Loyd, and Bay Ridge residents to discuss the proposal.
The credit, he said, would keep in line with the city’s efforts to ensure bills stay low.
“Today we are righting a wrong. We are doing something for homeowners that should’ve been done a long time ago,” de Blasio said. “When I was public advocate, I thought for years and years when we paid the water bill for our home in Brooklyn, I just assumed it was all for water. I had no idea that going all the way back to 1985 at some point, the city decided to start charging an additional fee on top of the cost of water. When I found out a few years ago, it shocked me, and I felt there was a fundamental injustice in that because the people have a lot of burdens.”
The mayor added that, if implemented, the proposal would save homeowners across all five boroughs a total of $82 million in fiscal year 2016 and $244 million the following year.
“Today is truly an historic day,” said Lloyd. “For more than 30 years, DEP commissioners have sat down every spring to figure out what our rate proposal will be for the next year, trying to meet the needs for the system also trying to the rates reasonable.”
Bay Ridge homeowner Maia Elfont discussed the impact of such a proposal.
“As homeowners and members of the community, we understand the challenges of raising a family and I think that, in Bay Ridge [especially], there are diverse economic backgrounds and I think that the water savings [would be] a wonderful step to help every family here,” she said.
“The fact that he was here reflects the fact that he knows that water rates and the amounts that we’ve been paying is a big issue here in Bay Ridge for homeowners,” added Gentile. “We have a lot of homes here just on this block, so the rates that we’ve been paying and I’ve been hearing it all the time., that they’re too high and unfair.”
The credit would benefit approximately 204,756 Brooklyn residents.
“183 dollars can go towards a monthly Metrocard. That’s your co-pay, several visits to the doctor, particularly for senior residents living on fixed income,” said Adams. “It’s an opportunity to provide some of those necessities they had to do without so this is a real bread and butter issue.”
The proposal will be put forward to the water board, according to de Blasio. “We know they’re going to consider each proposal, but we are hopeful they will embrace it,” he said.
Once the proposal was on the table, the mayor briefly answered questions regarding the State Board of Elections investigating him and his campaign team for alleged violations of campaign finances.
“It’s important that the facts be found in this case,” he said. “We welcome a clear airing of the facts and I want all the facts out there because I’m quite convinced the facts will show that everything was done legally and appropriately. When you see an inappropriate leak or the law being misconstrued in such an obvious fashion, of course it begs the question of motivation but I’ll leave it to all of you to uncover those motivations.”
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