Never mind: A judge just nixed that proposed break on your water bill
Back in April, we reported on an announced plan by Mayor Bill de Blasio offering a break on water bills for certain New York City homeowners.
Not so fast: The New York Daily News reports that a Manhattan Supreme Court judge has deemed the plan illegal, on the basis that the city's Water Board "lacks the authority" to grant the planned credit to owners of single-family, two-family, and three-family homes. (The judge did, however, call the idea "laudable.")
Large landlord organizations—who were angry that larger-scale property owners wouldn't benefit under the plan—are happy with the decision, and one told the paper, "This isn't the first time de Blasio has attempted to inappropriately overreach his boundaries with a rate-setting board that is supposed to be, by law, independent of City Hall's influence." (This was a jab at the mayor's sucessful push last year for the Rent Guidelines Board to enact a rent freeze.)
As for the mayor's camp, they plan to appeal. "The Mayor's intent is quite clear and he remains undeterred: He wants to return money to the pockets of homeowners," says his spokesperson Eric Phillips. But for now, don't expect your water bills to be any lower than usual.
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