"Water-Boarding" by DEP

Congressman Meeks:

I was sent an estimated bill this past week by DEP for water consumption in my house. I haven't lived in my house, which was labelled as unfit to live in by DOB, since Sandy. Haven't used any water. The house was damaged by Irene, so I really haven't had water use since then(I paid for that year). The pipes and meter under the house were destroyed, so estimates and use of water weren't possible.

Account Number: Service Address: xx W 12 RD FAR ROCKAWAY(Broad Channel) NY 11693 - 0000
Bill Date: 06/17/2013
Bill Amount: $296.66
Payment Due Date: 07/15/2013

Now, to some people, the estimated $1.15 a day for water use is nothing. I had two jobs before Sandy. One of them in Long Beach, destroyed in the storm. Been trying to replace that job, keep up payments on the mortgage of my damaged house, pay rent AND water in a tiny relocation apt. in Sunnyside. So many things to pay for after Sandy that I hadn't prepared for...

This past weekend, Congressman Michael Grimm of Staten Island, on TV and Radio, challenged DEP's billing of his S.I. constituents. He described the difficulties getting thru the aftermath financially and physically. It still isn't over for many of us. I need to reconstruct my house, with less salary than I had before the storm. I received little $$ from homeowners insurance and Natl. Flood for Sandy. I won't be living in my house for a long time, and paying for water not being used is a hardship. I don't buy clothes. I buy groceries, only if they're on sale. Cats and car eat first. I wait to find the cheapest gas prices, or walk. No eating out. A movie occasionally if it's on a sale day. Groupons for everything else. Every penny counts. 

Our billionaire Mayor, brought up in a struggling household himself, seems to have forgotten that a parking ticket, a hike in subway fare, an extra water bill can wreak havoc on a budget already stretched to the limit. To stop being charged for water by DEP, I have to call a plumber who charges from $500 - $1000 dollars to cap the supply to my home. If I had that money, I'd put it towards the reconstruction of my house. 

To make things worse, DEP sent me an estimated bill, DUE July 15, but didn't tell me that direct withdrawal was being reinstated. So, the $$ was taken out Saturday, without the usual email warning/reminder, from my checking account. I'm now in the negative. Of course I'll find a way out--I always do.

And you know I'm not the only one...my neighbors in Broad Channel, in Brooklyn, in Staten Island, everyone struggling, but carrying on as usual. Most too proud and resourceful to ask for hand-outs. Hard-working New Yorkers, accepting one final straw after another, treated shamefully once again by NYC's "Bureaucracy of Bullies". 

Thanks for any assistance you can give us.

Sincerely, 

Joan Marie A. Delahunt
W12th Road, Broad Channel

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