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City warns East Village public housing residents not to drink water after unsafe arsenic levels found
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Sep 3, 2022
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Courtesy of District Leader Aura Olavarria
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Sep 3, 2022
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New York City officials are warning tenants of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village not to drink the tap water, after water testing revealed unsafe levels of arsenic, Mayor Eric Adams’ office confirmed Saturday.
Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for Adams’ office, said the housing authority began testing water at the Jacob Riis Houses after receiving complaints it was cloudy. “Preliminary results from retesting” came through Friday revealing unsafe levels of arsenic, Lutvak said.
“The city has taken immediate action, including providing support and drinking water to every household at Riis while we conduct additional water testing,” he said. “We are communicating with residents [of the] Riis Houses and will continue to share the most up-to-date information available. These concerns are limited only to Riis Houses at this time – New Yorkers throughout the city can continue drinking and using tap water as they usually do.”
Neighborhood volunteers posted provided by NYCHA around the Jacob Riis Houses on Friday night, warning residents not to drink the water.
Courtesy of District Leader Aura Olavarria
Neighborhood volunteers posted signs provided by NYCHA around the sprawling housing complex Friday night that warned residents not to drink the water or use it for cooking indefinitely, as levels of arsenic were found above levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, according to photos shared with Gothamist.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the signs read. “The health and safety of residents is our top priority.”
Just after 10 p.m. Friday night, Mayor Eric Adams went to the housing project to hand out bottled water.
But The City, which first reported on the test results Friday night, said NYCHA managers had known about the test results for two weeks.
New York Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who represents the East Village, called for an investigation following that revelation. City Councilmember Carlina Rivera demanded answers from the public housing authority and the health department on any earlier test results from the housing project's water.
Levels of arsenic above 10 parts per billion can cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, paralysis, and blindness, and prolonged exposure can lead to several types of cancer, according to the EPA. The mayor’s office declined to say how high arsenic levels detected were.
“There are obviously families and seniors living here, and it could be deadly,” said local District Leader Aura Olavarria, who lives across the street from the public housing building and spent Friday night talking to tenants and taping up signs to warn them. She said tenants had been complaining about cloudy water for the past two weeks. “I’m very concerned.”
Any tenant who needs help getting drinking water to their apartment can call the NYCHA Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771.
Tagged
east village
Jacob Riis Houses
public safety
arsenic
Mayor Eric Adams
Nydia Velasquez
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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