Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sewer money down the drain

Millions of dollars in water and sewer taxes that could bankroll a flooding fix for water-weary Queens neighborhoods are instead being siphoned off to plug holes in the city budget, Queens lawmakers are charging.

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) said while many communities in the borough are begging for aging sewers to be replaced, the Bloomberg administration is using water and sewer taxes to subsidize a variety of other city services.

In the current fiscal year, the administration pumped $68 million in citywide water and sewer taxes into the general fund, city officials confirmed. Next fiscal year, that number is expected to reach $112 million.

Gennaro, who heads the Council's environmental committee, pointed to those diverted dollars to underscore the fact that the administration has pledged just $564,000 to study sewer flows in Queens, which was declared a federal disaster area following severe storms last summer.


Councilman James Gennaro calls for tax money to fix Queens flooding

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maspeth Mom says...

Yeah, I also wonder about the 15 Million it took to build the "Falls", was that tax payer money??? I could have done better with scaffolding and hoses from Home Depot.

Whose looking at the Falls, weathly Manhattanites?? GReat!!

Anonymous said...

Addressing the flooding issue that affects so many Queens’s neighborhoods is important but getting to the enablers DOB, DEP and Dept. of City Planning who approve plans that exacerbate flooding conditions is critical. Poorly planned projects and over development are the main culprits. The off campus Saint John's dormitory being built in Jamaica Estates is a perfect example of the city's lack of resolve. This project has gone forward without an approved sewer plan. The flooding issues in the area have worsened since the excavations at the site have taken place. In addition, the plans leave little green space in the property’s perimeter for rain fall to be absorbed. So folks you will have to swim when leaving your property
every time it rains!

Frank Lloyd Crap said...

"Yeah, I also wonder about the 15 Million it took to build the "Falls", was that tax payer money??? I could have done better with scaffolding and hoses from Home Depot"

And how much more money is being wasted running the pumps behind these stupid things? Instead of waterfalls they should have built a gigantic toilet to flush Bloomberg and his fucking idiotic ideas.

Anonymous said...

Now everybody, stop talking. Let's hear what Mzzz Manley wants to tell us about the water lines in Queens: ____________________.

Ah, yes. As usual, nothing of any importance. So, let's hear from her boss, Nazli Parvizi: _______________.

Same ol, same ol. So, Parvizi's boss, Commissar Death and Taxes says: ____________________________.

Well, that's a lot of nothing. Or was all they were saying drowned out by that waterfall? The waterfall that we paid for by hard work? The one using electricity to pump that water. Electricity that we pay for?

Here's the trio explaining their giving us the finger: __________.