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Man Whose House Burned Down During Sandy Still Gets BIlls From LIPA
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published May 9, 2013
Modified May 9, 2013
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published May 9, 2013
Modified May 9, 2013
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Firefighter Kieran Burke, whose house in Breezy Point burned down during Hurricane Sandy, is still getting bills from the Long Island Power Authority, whose own negligence possibly started the fires in the first place.
“It’s another knife in my back!” Burke told the Post.
LIPA, which is basing his electricity bill off of last year's meter readings, has been sending Burke bill after bill, even tracking him down to a New Jersey P.O. Box as his family moved from hotel to hotel in the wake of the superstorm.
Burke, who is being billed over $1500 by LIPA and National Gas, is infuriated by the utilities. “They’re not doing the actual readings because the meters don’t exist,” he said.
Burke called a LIPA customer service representative to try to clear things up, but LIPA seemed unaware that the house no longer existed. “The operator had no idea that these homes had burned down and could not offer an explanation why these bills continued to come,” Burke said. “It’s infuriating. LIPA burned my house down because of their negligence. Now they’re sending these bills out as if nothing ever happened.”
After being contacted by the Post, LIPA assured Burke that they would stop sending the erroneous bills.
Tagged
breezy point
fdny
hurricane sandy
LIPA
queens
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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