2023 New York Laws › PBS - Public Service › Article 6 - Provisions Affecting Two or More Kinds of the Public Service and the Persons and Corporations Furnishing Such Service › 116 - Discontinuance of Water Service to Multiple Dwellings.

§ 116. Discontinuance  of  water  service  to  multiple  dwellings. 1.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no public  utility  company
shall  discontinue  water  service  to  an  entire multiple dwelling (as
defined in the multiple dwelling law  or  the  multiple  residence  law)
located  anywhere  in  this  state  for nonpayment of bills rendered for
service unless such utility  shall  have  given  fifteen  days'  written
notice of its intention so to discontinue as follows:
(a)  Such  notice  shall  be  served  personally  on  the owner of the
premises  affected,  or  in  lieu  thereof,  to  the  person,  firm,  or
corporation  to  whom or which the last preceding bill has been rendered
and from whom or which the utility has received payment therefor, and to
the superintendent or other person in charge of the building or premises
affected,  if  it  can  be  readily  ascertained  that  there  is   such
superintendent or other person in charge.
(b)  In  lieu  of  personal delivery to the person or persons, firm or
corporation specified in (a) above, such  notice  may  be  mailed  in  a
postpaid  wrapper  to  the  address  of  such person or persons, firm or
corporation.
(c) In addition to the notice prescribed by (a) or (b) above,  fifteen
days'  written  notice  shall  be (i) posted in the public areas of such
multiple dwelling, (ii) mailed to the "Occupant" of each  unit  in  that
multiple  dwelling,  (iii)  mailed  to  the local health officer and the
director of the social services district for the  political  subdivision
in which the multiple dwelling is located, (iv) if the multiple dwelling
is  located  in  a city or a village, mailed to the mayor thereof, or if
there be none, to the manager, or, if the multiple dwelling  is  located
in  a  town,  then  mailed to the town supervisor, and (v) mailed to the
county executive of  the  county  in  which  the  multiple  dwelling  is
located,  or  if  there  be  none, then to the chairman of such county's
legislative body. Notice required by (iv) and (v) of this paragraph  may
be  mailed  to  the  persons  specified  therein  or to their respective
designees. The  notice  required  by  this  paragraph  shall  state  the
intended  date  of  discontinuance  of  service, the amount due for such
service, and the procedure by which any tenant or public agency may make
such payment and thereby avoid discontinuance of service.
(d) The written notice required by clauses  (iii),  (iv)  and  (v)  of
paragraph  (c)  above shall be repeated not more than four days nor less
than two days prior to such discontinuance.
1-a. Whenever a notice of intention to discontinue utility service has
been made pursuant to the provisions of  this  section  and  obligations
owed  the  utility have been satisfied, the utility shall notify, in the
same manner as it gave such notice of intention, the  occupant  of  each
unit that the intention to discontinue utility service no longer exists.
2.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section, the department charged with
enforcing the multiple dwelling law shall  prepare  a  schedule  of  all
multiple  dwellings  within its jurisdiction and shall provide a copy of
such schedule to any water corporation subject to the provisions of this
section. Such schedule shall be revised semi-annually and a revised copy
provided to such corporation. Every county, and  every  municipality  to
which  the  multiple  dwelling  law  does  not  apply,  which  county or
municipality has compiled or hereafter may  compile  a  listing  of  all
multiple  dwellings  within  its  jurisdiction  shall  make such listing
available without charge to any water corporation providing  service  in
such county or municipality.
3.  Any  water  corporation  which  willfully fails to comply with the
provisions of this section shall be liable for a penalty of  twenty-five
dollars  for  each  occupied  unit of the multiple dwelling for each day
during which service is unlawfully discontinued; provided, however, that

when the only non-compliance with this section is failure to mail notice
to each "Occupant" as required  by  clause  (ii)  of  paragraph  (c)  of
subdivision  one above the penalty shall be twenty-five dollars for each
occupied  unit  of  the multiple dwelling to which notice was not mailed
for each day during which service is unlawfully discontinued.  An action
to recover a penalty under this section may be brought by the counsel to
the commission in any court of competent jurisdiction in this  state  in
the name of the people of the state of New York. Any monies recovered in
such  action  shall  be  paid to the state treasury to the credit of the
general fund.
4. Any person who willfully interferes with the posting of the  notice
specified in clause (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one above by any
water  corporation,  willfully  defaces or mutilates any such notice, or
willfully removes the same from the place where it  is  posted  by  such
company  prior  to  the date specified therein for the discontinuance of
service shall be guilty of a violation and, upon  conviction,  shall  be
punished by a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.
5. The commission shall maintain rules and regulations for the payment
by  tenants of utility bills for water service in a multiple dwelling to
which this  section  applies  where  the  owner  of  any  such  multiple
dwelling,  or  the person, firm or corporation to whom or which the last
preceding bill has been rendered or from whom or which the  utility  has
received  payment  therefore, has failed to pay such utility bills. Such
rules and regulations shall (i) provide that utility service may not  be
discontinued  to  any  such  multiple  dwelling  as  long as the tenants
continue  to  make  timely  payments  in  accordance  with   established
procedures;  (ii)  include designation of an office to advise tenants of
the  rights  and  procedures  available  pursuant  to  such  rules   and
regulations;  (iii)  assure  that  tenants shall not be liable for bills
more than two months in arrears; and (iv) require  the  commission  upon
petition of twenty-five percent of the tenants of such multiple dwelling
to meet with representatives of such tenants and the owner, person, firm
or  corporation  to  whom  or  which  the  last  preceding bill has been
rendered or  from  whom  or  which  the  utility  has  received  payment
therefore.