REMARKS
Council Member Gennaro discusses strategies to address Water Board rental payments
3:07:49
·
4 min
Council Member James F. Gennaro expresses his concerns about the city's practice of charging rental payments to the Water Board. He discusses the need for public pressure on the mayor to stop this practice, highlighting its impact on water rates and environmental justice.
- Gennaro suggests involving various stakeholders, including Southeast Queens residents and environmental groups
- He criticizes the lack of transparency in the budget process regarding these rental payments
- The council member emphasizes the need to act before the payments are solidified in the budget
James F. Gennaro
3:07:49
And I'm I'm I'm I'm happy to apply whatever, you know, pressure I can by myself or from, you know, good folks like yourself to, you know, impress upon to to come to budget hearings when we're doing the budget and say that the and and and and all that.
3:08:11
But I, you know, I I you know, I I you know, I think if we're going to hit this thing sort of center mass, it would be coalition of, you know, Southeast Queen's people who are getting flooded.
3:08:25
The people from the E.
3:08:26
J.
3:08:26
Community any.
3:08:28
Everybody just, you know, coming down on the mayor saying, you know you know, don't you now I was saying the fact that you're legally able to do it, like, don't there go there.
3:08:40
And I I I think that's a good way if if that was organized in such a way that that could, you know, to send the signal now to the mayor that notwithstanding, you know, his ability to get future rental payments.
3:08:59
He shouldn't do that.
3:09:00
And I think if he may be I mean, he's gonna hear from the council, but, you know, to the extent that he hears it from the people of Southeast Queens, that it hears it from the environmental community, that it hears it from the from the from the EJ community, and more and more and more and this is you know, and we bring some daylight in on this issue, and all the ramifications it's gonna have.
3:09:24
Then it really looks like the mayor just has his hand in the cookie jar.
3:09:27
Because up until now, he's been able to take it he's been like, this year was able to take the money and stealth.
3:09:33
Right?
3:09:33
No one thought he was gonna do this.
3:09:35
So by the time anyone knew anything, There was a $440,000,000 of rental payment money in the budget, and that concrete solidifies very fast.
3:09:45
That's just what happened.
3:09:47
And so I think I I I think the Clarion call has to go out now that you're thinking of going there.
3:09:53
And why and, like, why you're at it?
3:09:56
He took 440 through the the, you know, the ratepayers are only paying between between, you know, like, 130 ish,000 And so where's the other 310,000,000 dollars even coming from?
3:10:08
Like, what is that?
3:10:09
Like, where is it coming from?
3:10:10
What is this Albany?
3:10:11
Will we just do, like, no offense bill?
3:10:13
You know, with Albany where they just, like, sell the Freeway to the Freeway Authority.
3:10:17
The Freeway Authority.
3:10:19
Issues, bongs, buys the threw away, gives it to the, you know, gives it to the governor to put into the budget and stuff like that.
3:10:25
This is, like, alimony stuff.
3:10:27
I don't even know where they end, not for nothing, like the Water Finance authorities as they create an entity.
3:10:32
If I tell them what's the what's the $300,000,000 or what are they doing?
3:10:35
They're gonna tell me to go jump in the lake.
3:10:37
And so it's just sort of like where we are.
3:10:40
And so I I I think we have to this is one of these things where, you know, you know, to kill a vampire, stake through the heart, that's the only way that I think that I'm I'm full of the other things.
3:10:54
I'm for saying, you know, man, that this is, you know, this is an insult in environmental just this move in New York City.
3:11:02
This is an insult to the people in Southeast Queens.
3:11:04
This is an insult to, like, all the all the new needs that, you know, DEP is gonna have.
3:11:09
They need as much leeway as possible to be able to, like, raise water rates to raise water and sewer rates, full water and sewer.
3:11:17
And to the extent that becomes a campaign that where you have a lot of people in different constituencies, all linking arms, I I I I I, you know, maybe, you know, and I'll talk about it from my end, but I I I think the pressure has to be it has to be different than this year when job the budget director can just say, I got $440,000,000.
3:11:41
I don't I didn't even think the mayor knew it went into the budget.
3:11:44
I mean, I think Jacques just put it in because he knew he because he knew we could do it.
3:11:49
And so so What?
3:11:51
Oh, are you what?
3:11:56
Oh, okay.
3:11:57
Alright.
3:11:58
Well, note from counsel.
3:11:59
Yeah.
3:12:00
We we
Eric Goldstein
3:12:00
we think you're on exactly the right track on that.
