Broken Water Main? You Foot the Bill. [Video]

If Arthur Collazo has a problem with the plumbing in his Bellerose home, he’s more than happy to pay to have it repaired. But a severed waterline under the city street, dozens of feet away from his property line? That’s another issue.

Collazo lost water to his home on Aug. 23, the same day a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled New York City. He promptly called the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), thinking they would fix the problem.

He was wrong.

Not only was Collazo left without water for more than a week (a generous neighbor allowed him to use his backyard hose), he also found himself saddled with a $3,000 repair bill – a bill that, as both a retired senior and a veteran – Collazo didn't think he should have to foot.

"I don’t see how somebody in my position should have to pay for work on the street," he said. "I thought this was really unfair and unjustified."

"Now I have to figure out where I’m going to find that money to pay my credit card bill," he added.

Collazo said it took three days for the DEP to send workers to his home to determine why his water wasn't functioning. He wasn't surprised when they confirmed that he did, indeed, have a problem. But he was surprised by what came next.

"I said 'OK, when can you guys do the repairs?' And they said 'Oh no, we don’t do that. That’s your responsibility.'”

At a press conference in front of Collazo's 89th Avenue home on Tuesday morning, Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, said that transferring  responsibility for city streets from homeowners to the city would require only a simple policy change by the mayor or DEP. He said he would also investigate the possibility of passing legislation on the issue in Albany.

"I belive that 9 times out of 10 these breaks occur at the city connection," Avella said. "And it’s their fault that the streets are not properly built to handle the amount of traffic that goes over them. Why should the homeowner be responsible?"

For Collazo's part, he hopes that bringing attention to the issue will prevent it from plaguing others in his position.

“Maybe nothing can be done for me," he said. "But perhaps something can be done in the city, up in Albany, where homeowners like myself, veterans like myself, and senior citizens like myself don’t have to be burdened with this kind of a responsibility for a city street.”