Tenants at Jacob Riis Houses losing their patience with city’s response to tap water arsenic concerns

NEW YORK — The city says the latest test samples of water at NYCHA’s Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village did not detect arsenic. Still, they’re asking residents not to drink or cook with the tap water out of an abundance of caution.

Late last week, tests did show elevated levels of arsenic.

As CBS2’S Lisa Rozner reported Monday, the city is still waiting for additional results to come back from more than 100 different parts of the campus.

The water in some units at the NYCHA building still is not in the clear. While the mayor’s office says the cloudiness isn’t connected to arsenic levels, residents were still being told out of an abundance of caution not to drink or cook with the water.

NYCHA ran out of bottled water and instead was giving out water in cans.

“That canned water tastes like chalk. You can’t even cook with it,” tenant Evelyn Negron said.

“This is per household. My grandmother can’t take it. She’s 90 years old,” another tenant said.

Over the weekend, the city collected water samples from apartments, roof tanks and other locations, and hoped to get the results as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said one test run by the Department of Environmental Protection did not detect arsenic from the water source entering the building, but confirmed tests of Jacob Riis units found arsenic levels between 12 and 14 parts per billion.

Since 2001, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has considered the safe limit for arsenic to be 10 parts per billion.

On Sunday, NYCHA’s federally imposed watchdog, monitor Bart Schwartz, told officials to preserve all documents related to the situation for an investigation.

Tenants say for weeks they’ve been complaining about the issue to the city, but no one listened.

“Parents didn’t know and they was using the water to mix their babies’ milk, powdered milk, taken baths, drinking, taking medication,” tenant Bridget Tuck said.

“Why nobody told us this?” tenant Tashaka Owens said.

“I’m kind of scared, you know, of how this is going to go in the future,” 13-year-old Akeilles Esquilin said.

Though the mayor would not make himself available to address the issue, his office released a statement late Monday afternoon.

On Sunday, Adams did stop by to take photos with residents getting water.

“That’s called collateral damage,” Tuck said.

“Basically, they’re taking their time. There’s people that need to bathe, especially little kids,” tenant David Bonilla said.

The Centers for Disease Control says large doses of arsenic can cause symptoms ranging from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea to dehydration and shock. Long-term exposure in drinking water can lead to conditions, including skin disorders, increased risk for diabetes, and several types of cancer.

The mayor’s office has said the rest of the city’s water supply is clean and safe to drink.