A federal judge on Friday ordered the city to temporarily continue providing water to three of seven plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit earlier this week alleging the Adams administration violated the law by threatening to shut their water off over delinquency on their bills — despite them being legally exempt from the shut-offs.
Hector Gonzalez, a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York, issued the ruling on July 26 following a suit and preliminary injunction which Legal Services NYC, a legal group representing seven plaintiffs, filed on Wednesday.
Gonzalez’s order instructed the city to continue water service for the three most at-risk plaintiffs — Liliana Mendoza-Lebron and Harvey Mendoza, Ethel Oliphant and Jim Hamlin-McLeod — until at least Aug. 9, when he will hold the first hearing in the case. None of the plaintiffs have had their water shut off so far, according to City Hall.
The mayor, the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Water Board were listed as defendants in the Legal Services NYC case.
Specifically, the suit alleges the city violated the plaintiffs’ due process rights by demanding sizable down payments and their enrollment in pricey payment plans without providing proper notice of water shut-off exemptions. Individuals entitled to exemptions include seniors, people with disabilities, those with serious medical conditions and households with children.
Furthermore, the suit alleges DEP refused to give homeowners, including those who are victims of deed theft and are currently fighting to reclaim their homes, the chance to negotiate the payment plans.
The plaintiffs are demanding the city stop threatening protected groups with water shut-offs, afford people proper due process around exemptions and payment plans and award unspecified damages.
Elvira and Francisco Tavarez, one of the plaintiff couples who live in a two-family Queens home with their son and daughter, went to DEP to place a 10% down payment on their delinquent bill, according to the suit. But, the suit alleges, they were not told by the agency that they were exempt due to Francisco Tavarez having a debilitating blood condition.
Even though the mayor framed the city’s latest water bill crackdown as focussed on large businesses — like office buildings and hotels — when he announced it in March, many low and middle-income small homeowners have also faced the threat of shut-downs, the suit alleges.
“Unfortunately, this is not a new tactic by NYC,” said Jacquelyn Griffin, a Legal Services NYC staff attorney, in a statement. “When the city decides to tighten its belt, it is vulnerable New Yorkers who suffer the most. What stands out here, however, is the seeming indifference and even outright hostility toward implementing the very protections put in place to allow our most vulnerable citizens to continue living with basic human dignity in this city.”
Water bill delinquency is quite common in the city; roughly one in nine of those who pay for the service have outstanding balances, according to the DEP.
However, mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia disputed that the plaintiffs were not properly notified of exemptions, contending the city’s process complies with state law. She further argued that because DEP does not necessarily know which New Yorkers are entitled to exemptions, it relies on individuals to get in contact and notify them.
Garcia also said the city does not target anyone specifically, but instead goes after those who have the highest delinquent balances.
“We have safeguards in place to ensure that vulnerable customers — particularly disabled and elderly individuals and families with young children — do not have their water shut off, and none of the individuals involved in this case had their water shut off,” Garcia said, in a statement. “But there is no way to find out about these conditions or come to alternate solutions if customers have not communicated with DEP.”
She added that the administration will “review the lawsuit.”
