The company that runs the lucrative Hudson River cruise ship terminal rakes in millions of dollars a year on city-owned land but couldn't be bothered to pay its full water and sewer bill, an audit has found. P&O Ports North America - which collects the revenues from 850,000 cruise passengers who board or disembark in Manhattan every year - ran up a $78,000 water and sewer bill from October 2006 to August 2008.
That's on top of an additional $75,000 it failed to pay in 2005 in fees related to its lease agreement for the West Side piers between 46th and 54th Sts.
"This is not a drop in the bucket," said city Controller William Thompson, who plans to release an audit about the unpaid bills this week.
As previously revealed, Thompson's audits also found other unpaid water and sewer bills this year.
Private hospitals owed more than $10 million, while the Brooklyn Army Terminal owed $240,000 and New York Skyports owed more than $37,000.
Thompson slammed both the Economic Development Corp., which controls the space, and the Department of Environmental Protection - the city's water and sewer arm - for letting scofflaws slide.
"New Yorkers are being asked to dig deeper and deeper into their emptier pockets, yet a number of city agencies are not doing their part to ensure that much-needed revenue makes it into the city's coffers," Thompson said.
Controller boils as millions in water and sewer bills go unpaid
Photo from NY Post
1 comment:
What about Shulman's fines for illegal lobbying? Will Parkside and the Willets Point advocates be given a free pass? Aren't we obligated to pay parking tickets and such? The rich get rich and the poor get poorer. In the meantime...
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