Velázquez Calls on NYCHA Federal Monitor to Approve New Vendor to Prevent Faulty Water Testing at Riis Houses

New York, NY—Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) sent a letter to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chair Gregory Russ after potentially dangerous levels of the chemical arsenic were found in the water systems at Riis Houses on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In the letter, Velázquez presses NYCHA to cancel its relationship with the company and testing lab that was failing to test for arsenic in the water at Riis Houses, and asks for NYCHA's Federal Monitor, Bart Schwartz to approve a new vendor to ensure all federal, state, and local testing laws are met.

"Over the past week, the residents of Riis Houses have lived with the burden and fear of not being able to trust that the water in their homes is safe for consuming, cooking, or bathing," said Velázquez. "This is an unacceptable and dangerous situation that with proper testing and diligence, should have been avoided in the first place. Right now, the least NYCHA can do is to assure all residents that they are taking every possible step to run comprehensive tests on the water systems on a regular basis. Over the past week, my office has been in close contact with both residents of Riis Houses and NYCHA and I will continue to work to hold NYCHA accountable and prevent this from ever happening again."

A PDF of the letter is available here.