Mayor Eric Adams delivered water on Sunday afternoon to residents of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village after traces of arsenic were detected in the complex’s drinking water Friday night. 

According to a spokesperson from the Mayor’s Office, NYCHA began testing the water in response to complaints of cloudy water. 

“Results returned earlier this week left open the possibility of potential contaminants, including arsenic,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said Sunday in a statement. “Those results were found to be questionable, so we have and are continuing to run multiple additional tests.”

What You Need To Know

  • Residents at Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village were told by NYCHA Friday to not drink the water until tests conclude that it is safe

  • According to a spokesperson for Mayor’s Office, tests that showed possibly unsafe levels of arsenic in the drinking water were conducted by NYCHA, but adds preliminary tests conducted by the city’s DEP did not detect arsenic

  • The city is waiting on tests from additional samples taken Sunday from apartments, roof tanks, and other locations before it can feel confident telling residents of the Jacob Riis Houses that they can safely drink their tap water

According to City Hall, test results released Sunday by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection didn’t detect arsenic from the water entering the building, but that the agency was still awaiting the results of additional water samples collected in rooftop tanks and other locations, including apartments.

The Mayor’s Office is advising residents of the NYCHA complex to not drink or cook with tap water.

“DEP has confirmed that the rest of the city’s water supply is clean and safe to drink,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office wrote. “As we said Friday, there is no evidence connecting the arsenic levels to cloudy water.”

According to our editorial partner The City, NYCHA made the discovery of traces of arsenic in the tap water two weeks ago, but tenants only found out Friday night.

A NYCHA spokesperson disputed the timeline, saying the arsenic was found Friday.

Over 2,600 people live at the Jacob Riis Houses in Manhattan, a complex located between Avenue D and the FDR Drive. It is one of NYCHA's biggest developments.

Some Jacob Riis Houses residents expressed their concerns to the possible arsenic in their water system.

“So I’m about to make baked potatoes, and I can’t even use that,” Gloria Torres, a lifelong resident, said as she pointed to her kitchen faucet.

She said she had to use bottles of water to rinse the potatoes “because we’re afraid to use this water.”

Torres said after being told by NYCHA Friday to avoid using water from her faucet to cook or drink, she spent the entire weekend relying on bottled water not only to drink, but to cook and wash her face.

“Let me show you what I’ve been doing all day,” Torres said. “So I take this clear glass and I am looking at it just to see if I see anything, cause yesterday I saw a lot of metallic things in the sink and stuff that was actually stuck to it. I don’t know what it was!”

With all the water testing, Torres isn’t sure what to believe.

“And it’s only Riis projects?” she asked. “If it was the regular water, don’t you think it would be everywhere? But it’s just this project! So I don’t know. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I am looking for answers.”

In the meantime, NYCHA is providing cases of free bottled water for residents of the Jacob Riis Houses.

They also set up water fountains outside that served water, which Public Advocate Jumaane Williams tasted for himself Sunday afternoon.

Despite giving his seal of approval to this fountain water, Williams offered harsh words for NYCHA management, which was the target of a critical report that his office released last week. 

“It is indicative of how bad the conditions are and the problems we have not just with funding but management related,” Williams said. “We’re disappointed we found out NYCHA knew about that report of arsenic while we were standing here doing this report and didn’t alert anyone!”

Residents who need help get drinking water to their apartment are urged to call the NYCHA Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771.