City wants owner to pay for sewer line it broke

From the NY Post:

First Sandy wrecked his house. Then the city broke his water line.

And now he has to pay for both.

A Rockaway landlord with $20,000 in damage from Hurricane Sandy has to shell out thousands more to fix a busted underground water pipe — even though he says the city broke it.

Heavy machinery used to clean up Sandy wreckage crushed a patch of sidewalk near his house, slashing a two-inch pipe running from the water main to his Beach 92nd Street property, said Charles Zurheide, 59.

He said it will cost as much as $6,500 to make the repairs, which are necessary to restore water to the two-family rental home.

Zurheide has to pay out of his own pocket because the line is on his property, a city official said.

The city’s Department of Environmental Protection on Nov. 30 told Zurheide that if he didn’t fix it in 10 days, they would do it for him and send him the bill.

He filed a claim with the Comptroller’s Office — and vowed not to pay.

“It happened because of the heavy machinery they were using to pick up the debris thrown out on the curb,” he fumed.

“I want it fixed and I don’t want to have to pay for it, because it’s not something I did,” he said.