by Greg Smith, September 23, 2022
As the number of tenant complaints about cloudy water began to skyrocket at the Jacob Riis Houses this summer, a top NYCHA executive decided the tap water there needed to be tested.
But instead of ordering up an expedited test, which would have yielded results within 24 hours, NYCHA Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble decided there was no need to rush things.
As a result, weeks went by from when the water was first sampled to when NYCHA says it was first told that arsenic had been detected in the water at Riis. And then, NYCHA delayed telling tenants and the public about the results for yet another week.
The portrait of NYCHA’s slow-walk response to the rapid and alarming spike in water quality complaints emerged during a tense City Council hearing Friday held by Oversight and Investigations Committee Chair Gale Brewer and Public Housing Chair Alexa Aviles.
It was the first time top NYCHA officials were placed under oath over the positive arsenic tests, and it was the first time elected officials got a chance to challenge NYCHA’s assertion that they handled the water crisis at Riis as best they could.
On Sept. 2, NYCHA suddenly announced tests showed arsenic in the water at Riis, and then a week later they said the tests were flawed and there was never any arsenic in the water. In the meantime the city Health Department had been advising tenants not to drink or cook with the water.
Read more: https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/9/23/23369329/city-council-riis-nycha-arsenic-water-hearing
