FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 18, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE
Queens pols want utilities to pay for home damages
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Elected offi cials from northeast Queens
rallied with civic leaders and community
members in Fresh Meadows on July
11 urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to
sign a bill that would protect homeowners
from shouldering the fi nancial burden of
repair costs when damage is done to their
property by utility companies.
State Senator John Liu was joined by
Assemblymen David Weprin and Edward
Braunstein on 188th Street at 81st Avenue
to announce the passage of the Utility
Responsibility Bill (S.4118c/A.5254c) in
the State Legislature. Th e bill states states
that if damage has been done to a homeowner’s
lateral sewer and water pipes by
a utility company, the company will be
held responsible for the repair or replacement
costs.
“Th is victory is the product of citizen
activism and community leadership.
We don’t want to penalize utility companies
but we do need them to keep
their infrastructure in good repair; when
they don’t, homeowners invariably suffer
heavy penalties,” said Liu. “Th is legislation
helps ensure appropriate incentives
and accountability. I am grateful to our
local leaders here and our fellow legislators,
and am hopeful the Governor will
see this bill favorably.”
For years, residents of northeastern
Queens have been fi ghting for a fair and
just outcome to the damage done to their
homes due to the negligence of utility
companies, according to the lawmakers.
Since 2017, dozens of water service lines
have failed in areas like Fresh Meadows
and Jamaica Estates, resulting in homeowners
having to pay for repairs out of
pocket.
Although the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) identifi
ed Verizon as the responsible party for
the water leaks on 188th Street in Fresh
Meadows, homeowners still had to pay
tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket
in damages, they said.
“As a longtime homeowner in northeast
Queens, I have seen many residents
aff ected by stray DC currents emanating
from Verizon’s old copper landlines, causing
their water service lines to corrode
and leak, costing these homeowners many
thousands of dollars to repair, numerous
times over, I strongly urge Governor
Cuomo to sign the Utility Responsibility
Bill,” said Elaine Young, president of the
West Cunningham Park Civic. “Th is bill
absolves homeowners of fi nancial responsibility
when their service lines are broken
by a utility company. It has already passed
the Assembly and Senate and now the
Governor needs to do the right thing for
the community and sign this bill!”
Currently, the law states that homeowners
are responsible for sewer and water
pipe issues on their property by default. If
a homeowner does not make the necessary
repairs, their water will be shut off . Th e
only option a homeowner has is to fi ght
in court, where they are up against a corporation
with fi nancial resources and legal
expertise which far outweighs that of a regular
citizen.
Linda Gordon, a board member of the
West Cunningham Park Civic Association
who lives on 188th Street, said too many
seniors who are no longer working and
have to rely on social security, as well as,
families with children who are struggling
to make ends meet, are enduring fi nancial
problems due to the exorbitant costs to
repair city pipes that they did not break but
were forced to pay for, or else have their
water turned off .
According to Gordon, Verizon off ered
to reimburse homeowners of their repair
expenses in exchange for not fi xing the
underlying problem: fi nding and removing
the wires that are causing stray current
that is destroying the underground pipes
all over New York.
“New York City should be going aft er
Verizon to correct the leaking pipes that
are currently destroyed before more
damage to the streets like a sinkhole on
Winchester Boulevard,” said Gordon.
Th e Utility Responsibility Bill, sponsored
by Weprin in the Assembly and Liu in the
Senate, not only provides homeowners
long-awaited relief from this unfair economic
obligation, the utility company in
question will be held liable to fi x the conditions
as soon as possible.
Read more at QNS.com.
Meng: Put 'Cadillac of mailboxes' everywhere
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens lawmaker wants to battle
mailbox fi shing on a national level with a
new piece of proposed legislation.
Last week, Congresswoman Grace
Meng introduced a new bill called the
Keep Mail Safe Act, which calls on the
U.S. Postmaster General to study the feasibility
of retrofi tting all blue mailboxes
in the United States with narrow mail
slots.
Th e retrofi tted boxes have been deemed
the “Cadillac of mailboxes” by the United
States Postal Service, who have installed
them across Queens over the past year.
Each box will have a narrow slot measuring
three-eighths of an inch to make
mailbox fi shing more diffi cult.
“Year aft er year, numerous Americans,
including New Yorkers – many of whom
are seniors — fall victim to criminals who
steal their personal information through
mail fi shing,” said Meng. “Th is has resulted
in identity theft and funds being stolen
from victims’ bank accounts. Last
year, the Postal Service agreed to retrofi t
all blue mail collection boxes in my home
borough of Queens, New York, aft er I
urged the agency to do so. Now, they
should look at doing the same throughout
the country. We can no longer ignore
this problem. Th e Postmaster General
must conduct a study to retrofi t all collection
boxes.”
According to Meng’s offi ce, there were
over 3,000 mailbox fi shing incidents in
New York City last year alone. Th e crime
of fi shing occurs when an individual
place string connected to a sticky material
into the opening of collection boxes.
Once the substance adheres to a piece of
mail, the person “fi shes” it out.
Using these tactics, criminals have
been able to steal people’s personal information
including bank and credit cards
and Social Security numbers, which has
resulted in identity theft and bank fraud.
Last year, the USPS began replacing
and retrofi tting mailboxes in northeast
Queens, where there were 124 incidents
in 2018. In January 2019, USPS said they
retrofi tted mailboxes in Little Neck and
Oakland Gardens and had plans to do
the same for all collection boxes in the
borough.
Narrower mail slots have caused fi shers
to target areas that do not utilize the
security feature.
Photo via Facebook.com/BaysideHills
A high-security mailbox is installed in Bayside.
Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
State Senator John Liu speaks at a July 11 press
conference in Fresh Meadows
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