Jacob Riis Houses

September 12, 2022

NYC clears water for drinking at the Jacob Riis Houses after false alarm over arsenic results

Positive test results showing dangerous levels of arsenic in an East Village public housing complex were false. Environmental Monitoring and Technologies Inc., the testing firm that originally reported unsafe levels of arsenic at the Jacob Riis Houses, said there had been "trace levels" of arsenic introduced into the original testing samples analyzed on August 26, resulting in a false positive test, as Gothamist reported. The city on Saturday announced the tap water was cleared for drinking following new tests of the original water sample.
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September 6, 2022

Investigation underway after arsenic is found in water at East Village public housing complex

Residents of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village may have been exposed to water with dangerous levels of arsenic for more than a week without being notified by the city's public housing authority (NYCHA) until last Friday, as first reported by the non-profit news site, The City. While recent tests indicate there are no longer high levels of arsenic in the water, the public housing complex's roughly 2,600 residents still lack clean water. The federal monitor overseeing NYCHA opened an investigation this past weekend into the agency's actions surrounding the test results.
Details here