Bay Ridge pols say city’s water rate hike proposal is all wet
Bay Ridge elected officials from both sides of the aisle are busy pouring cold water on a proposal to raise the city’s water and sewer rates.
Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-parts of Bensonhurst) and state Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southern Brooklyn) are both speaking out on the recommendation made April 23 by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that the New York City Water Board raise the rate by 3.35 percent. The water board is holding a public hearing in Brooklyn on May 14 before deciding on a rate hike. The hearing will take place at the Visitor Center at Newtown Creek, 329 Greenpoint Ave., at 7 p.m.
The water board is expected to make a decision on May 23. If it is approved, the new rate would take effect on July 1. With the new increase, a typical single-family homeowner in the city would pay a yearly water bill of $1,025, an increase of $33 over last year.