“The city’s new water meter readers are drowning the borough in undeserved bills, say angry Brooklynites who are now paying as much as eight times more for water than they did before. ”
““I’ve been frustrated by it and I’m waiting for something to get done with it,” said Midwood resident Naomi Wolf, who claims she used to pay about $1,200 per year for water — before the city billed her $4,800 after installing automated meter readers at her home on Ocean Parkway last September. “I would prefer not to have to pay the city another $3,600 for something that didn’t take place. I use a normal amount of water like everybody else. We don’t have a sprinkler system. I barely even water the tiny patch of grass I have.”
“Complaints have flooded Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s office from all five boroughs — but Brooklyn leads the way with 168 complaints about allegedly faulty readers, 42 percent of the citywide total.”
“…said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “We know bill disputes are up, we know [the Department of Environmental Protection] is out hiring new inspectors it shouldn’t need, we know homeowners are getting bills that defy explanation.”
Full Story: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/28/all_brooklynwatermeters_2012_07_06_bk.html