MAYOR VISITS BAY RIDGE TO PROPOSE CREDIT ON WATER BILLS Mayor Bill de Blasio visited Bay Ridge on Monday, April 25 to announce a proposed $183 credit for water bills. BY JAIME DEJESUS [email protected] Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference outside a Bay Ridge home this afternoon to announce the proposal of a $183 summer credit on the water and sewer bills of over 664,000 homeowners. He was joined outside a home near 79th Street and Colonial Road on Monday, April 25 by Councilmember Vincent Gentile, Borough President Eric Adams, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Loyd, and Bay Ridge residents to discuss the proposal. The credit, he said, would keep in line with the city’s efforts to ensure bills stay low. “Today we are righting a wrong. We are doing something for homeowners that should’ve been done a long time ago,” de Blasio said. “When I was public advocate, I thought for years and years when we paid the water bill for our home in Brooklyn, I just assumed it was all for water. I had no idea that going all the way back to 1985 at some point, the city decided to start charging an additional fee on top of the cost of water. When I found out a few years ago, it shocked me, and I felt there was a fundamental injustice in that because the BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Jaime DeJesus people have a lot of burdens.” The mayor added that, if implemented, the proposal would save homeowners across all fi ve boroughs a total of $82 million in fi scal year 2016 and $244 million the following year. “Today is truly a historic day,” said Lloyd. “For more than 30 years, DEP commissioners have sat down every spring to fi gure out what our rate proposal will be for the next year, trying to meet the needs for the system also trying to make the rates reasonable.” Bay Ridge homeowner Maia Elfont discussed the impact of such a proposal. “As homeowners and members of the community, we understand the challenges of raising a family and I think that, in Bay Ridge especially, there are diverse economic backgrounds and I think that the water savings would be a wonderful step to help every family here,” she said. “The fact that he was here refl ects the fact that he knows that water rates and the amounts that we’ve been paying is a big issue here in Bay Ridge for homeowners,” added Gentile. “We have a lot of homes here just on this block, so the rates that we’ve been paying and I’ve been hearing it all the time., that they’re too high and unfair.” The credit would benefi t approximately 204,756 Brooklyn residents. “183 dollars can go towards a monthly Metrocard. That’s your co-pay, several visits to the doctor, particularly for senior residents living on fi xed income,” said Adams. “It’s an opportunity to provide some of those necessities they had to do without so this is a real bread and butter issue.” The proposal will be put forward to the water board, according to de Blasio. “We know they’re going to consider each proposal, but we are hopeful they will embrace it,” he said. Once the proposal was on the table, the mayor briefl y answered questions regarding the State Board of Elections investigating him and his campaign team for alleged violations of campaign fi nances. “It’s important that the facts be found in this case,” he said. “We welcome a clear airing of the facts and I want all the facts out there because I’m quite convinced the facts will show that everything was done legally and appropriately. When you see an inappropriate leak or the law being misconstrued in such an obvious fashion, of course it begs the question of motivation but I’ll leave it to all of you to uncover those motivations.” Cops catch suspects believed to be behind Third Avenue burglaries BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] Offi cers from the 68th Precinct took down two perps – believed to be suspects in an ongoing string of commercial burglaries happening along Third Avenue – early Thursday morning. According to a police source, the precinct’s Anti Crime team pulled up to Xin Restaurant and Bar, located on the corner of Third Avenue and 84th Street, and saw three perps – described only as black men – leaving a side door of the eatery with pry bars on Thursday, April 28. Offi cers caught up to two of the perps when the trio attempted to fl ee and recovered a pry bar from the scene. One of the perps was able to escape, however, and Anti-Crime is having the pry bar checked for DNA. According to Captain Joseph Hayward, the 68th Precinct’s Commanding Offi cer, this is not an isolated incident. At a joint Third Avenue Merchants and Fifth Avenue Bid meeting at the 68th Precinct held on Wednesday, April 27, Hayward stressed the importance of security precautions, being that there have been “four commercial burglaries on Third Avenue in the last six weeks.” Residents and local elected offi cials were quick to praise the precinct’s police work “I think the NYPD did an outstanding job,” State Senator Marty Golden told this paper. “Kudos to the men and women of the 68th Precinct who made a major arrest this morning involving those believed to be responsible for the recent string of commercial burglaries. This is a good sign of the NYPD being on top of things.” Golden also mentioned that the NYPD has been proactive in responding to the recent rash of business crimes - appointing two new police offi cers to the precinct last week from the academy and fi ve police offi cers from the impact unit, assigned to the area to help investigate, track and follow these crime patterns. “Tremendous job by the 68th Precinct during the early morning hours today,” said Councilmember Vincent Gentile. “The culprits seem to have a substantial criminal history and may be responsible for a string of burglaries here in Southern Brooklyn and Queens. I have been in communication with Captain Hayward and I am confi dent that the suspects will be brought to justice.” The investigation is ongoing. We will update this story with more information as it becomes available. BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/fi le photo Cops arrested two perps on Thursday believed to be suspects in a string of burglaries happening along Third Avenue’s commercial strip.
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