NYC Mayor goes after hotels, residents for water bills

New York City Mayor Adams (D) issued a warning that he had initiated the next phase of collection enforcement on overdue water service accounts from residents and commercial properties.

During a press conference, Mayor Adams announced that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is ramping up its collection efforts on 2,400 chronically delinquent water service accounts. The accounts reportedly total $102 million in fees.

The DEP will send out “water shutoff notices” to commercial properties, hotels, office buildings, retail spaces, as well as family homes that haven’t responded to outreach efforts.

“We gave these delinquent customers a chance to clear their water debts and save millions on interest through our water amnesty program, and while more than 100,000 took us up on our reasonable offer, a small percentage of customers incorrectly made the mistake of thinking they could get away with stiffing their fellow New Yorkers without any accountability,” Adams said, according to an official press release. “We’re not going to allow big commercial properties and others [to] leave the rest of us holding their water bills.”

“While we aim to work with these customers one last time, we will not look away while landlords and property owners ignore their obligations to their neighbors and their city,” the mayor added.

The announcement regarding water services comes as the city continues to deal with violent crime and a system overloaded by illegal immigration.

Despite a lack of shelter space, migrants have refused to take the city’s offer for free transportation to other locations. Only a reported 2% of those offered a plane or bus ticket chose to relocate.

“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to pay hotels’ water bills, they need to pay up if they owe the city money,” popular independent reporter Oren Levy told Blaze News.

“At the same time, we should have a ‘New Yorkers first’ attitude. We shouldn’t have to pay for the illegal immigration either; there are people taking advantage of the system,” he added.

In a surprising turn, Mayor Adams has suggested the city change its sanctuary city status so that illegal immigrants that commit felonies or violent crimes can be deported.

Levy, who reports from city hall almost daily, said however that Adams is often stonewalled by city council members, particularly in regard to changing the sanctuary city status.

“City councilors say it’s not going to happen. A lot of people think the mayor has the power to do whatever he wants, but he doesn’t,” Levy added. “The city is out of control.”

Law enforcement issues continue to pop up, including attacks on NYPD officers.

Tweenage twin sisters were recently stabbed after refusing a man’s advances outside a Brooklyn bodega. One of the twins died from her wounds in what is just the latest instance of violent crime taking place in the city

Meanwhile, the NYPD faced criticism for publicizing their own dance team just weeks earlier.