Hundreds of New York American Water Co. customers angry at high water bills rallied in Glen Head on Saturday, calling for a public takeover of the Merrick-based company.
Public water!
Agatha Nadel, an organizer of the protest, displayed a cardboard blowup of her latest monthly water bill, for $607.07.
“Having affordable water is not a choice,” she told the crowd.
There have been previous protests over the past several months against New York American, but the push for a public takeover of the private company — a subsidiary of New Jersey-based American Water — has intensified in recent weeks, as residents have concluded it’s the only option to ensure rates are comparable to the much lower amounts in neighboring public water districts, Nadel said.
Andrew M. Cuomo to either create a new water district or merge the New York American service areas into existing, neighboring public districts.
Supervisor Joseph Saladino, who spoke at the rally and is up for election to a first full term on Tuesday, said afterward that attorneys with the town are examining that option, as well as the option of the state creating public water districts.
Why is a company making a profit off of our basic human right?” Glen Head resident Sandra Nightingale, 46, supports a public takeover.
She said her family has stopped using lawn sprinklers and even travels to a Laundromat to wash clothes, because she said it’s cheaper than using their home’s water.
“I feel like our hands are tied,” she said.