I've had a similar experience. You can't get through before 10am or after 330pm. But eventially they did answer and I did get a resolution.

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PhillyGirl, do you recommend filing a notice of claim with the MUA. You only have a certain amount of time to do it. Is this something we should do as a group or individually?

Thanks
Brett

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Right, the tides....my place still smells like a low one.

BTW, your avatar is always looking at me, no matter what angle I am at and it freaks me out....I like it...

It's 10:08 and raining...Will my living room once again become the City's toilet????? It's a crapshoot.....

Maybe the magical underground rivers the MUA likes to talk about will take all the excrement out to sea!!!!

I too want to thank Councilman Fulop for making this happen. My fear is that the MUA is apparently used to this issue coming to a head and then fading away (as evidenced by the accounts of people having these meetings since at least 1983). Let's keep the pressure on. I think the turnout tonight was great and everyone that spoke confirmed that we are not going to let the deflection continue back on to us (the victims). There is nothing wrong with our property, its sanitary lines, drains or connections. The problem lies with the MUA and their inadequate sewer system. We don't need another study. If you go to

http://www.harsimuscove.org/documents.html

and go to the "flooding fact section" you will see an internal memo dated 2004 where the MUA did an internal study identifying the short comings of the sewer system.

I think quarterly meetings with or without the MUA are called for so that as a group we can monitor their progress towards a solution.

International Stylze, ask for Richie. He's good and costs about $12 bucks. You may have to wait a while though.

If you want to make a claim against the JCMUA for losses due to their sewage entering your house, call (201) 432-1150, ask for Joe Popovich and have him mail you a 'Notice of Claim' form. It probably won't come to anything but at least it lengthens the paper trail.

I just called and he told me he would send it out but "in no way does that mean JCMUA accepts liability".

If you have an attorney, see what they say.

I just called the DEP and was assigned a case #. Let's keep putting pressure on the JCMUA. Let's get this problem solved before people start getting sick or lose their total investment in their homes.

DEP # 1-877-927-6337

Dear elected officials of Jersey City,

In October 2006 my wife and I moved into a condo at 325 4th street (we formerly lived on 8th street and before that on Pavonia Ave.). We paid $452,000 for a 1200 Sq. ft. gut renovation duplex and pay approximately $9000 a year in taxes. My wife and I probably don't fit the mold of the majority of people that own places downtown. We both serve the community that we live in as civil servants and work two jobs each to make ends meet. We spent every dime we had to purchase this condo because we love living in Jersey City and are excited about the current revitalization going on here.

We looked at the purchase of this condo as a long term investment in Jersey City's future as well as ours. Additionally, we want our newborn daughter to be exposed to all of the rich culture that exists here.

That being said, I am not sure if my family and I can continue to live here. In the short time that I have lived in my condo it has flooded each time there is a moderate to heavy rain. Apparently, the downtown city sewer system cannot handle the runoff of any kind of moderate rainfall. When this happens water and sewage pour out of the drains that exist outside in the front and rear yards like a geyser. In addition to that, inside my house, sewage pours out of the toilet and the shower drain. JCMUA officials would lead you to believe that this latest nor'easter was an isolated incident but I have documented that what I have just described has also occurred on March 2, 2007 during a short, moderate burst of rain.

This past Sunday (April 15) was absolutely awful. In a matter of minutes I watched the water rise outside my front and rear doors to a height of almost two feet. I could not open the front door to evacuate my wife and one week old daughter so I had to carry them, hysterically crying, through the front window. Imagine how frightened my wife was as I passed our infant of only a few days to her in the driving, cold rain. I spent the next two days and nights pumping out 10-12 inches of raw sewage from my first floor and trying to salvage anything that wasn't damaged.

That being said, I now fear for the health and safety of my family and I can't seem to get any help. I am learning that my flood insurance does not cover the damage to my condo because although the garden level, first floor has a finished kitchen, bathroom and living room, the federal government which administers the flood insurance program considers it to be a "basement". I may have to pay for the sanitization and restoration of the condo, not to mention all of my ruined furniture, out of money that my wife and I don't have. The JCMUA official that was quoted as saying people in Jersey City have no business living in garden level units should be ashamed of themselves. That is just the kind of salt-in-the-wound-blame-the-victim talk that the tax payers of this great city don't need right now. We need some solutions not deflection.

Additionally, I have contacted the JCMUA several times because I feel that they should mitigate this problem by installing back flow preventers or some other engineered solution. They should also pay for the restoration and sanitization of our home if insurance won't pay for it because as I do research, it is apparent that they were previously aware of this problem yet refused to do anything to upgrade the antiquated infrastructure. They have refused to return my phone calls.

How, can I raise a child in a house that continually gets flooded with city sewage and the bacteria and mold that comes along with it? To make things worse there is no way I can get what I paid for the condo if I were to try and sell it. Now that this problem has manifested itself, I stand to lose my entire investment. If I had known that my home would flood every time it rains, I can assure you I would never have purchased it. How can the city continue to add housing units into an antiquated sewer system that they know full well can't handle them? There was no disclaimer on my city issued certificate of occupancy, "buyer beware, you are purchasing a 'basement' condo that will continually flood". No, they issued that C.O. just as they would for any building that meets the city's building codes.

It is not just me and my family that are affected by the continual flooding. There is one other unit above me that is owned by another young couple. The father of their 3 year old boy is currently on his second tour in Iraq, which leaves his wife to deal with their son's asthma being triggered by the mold that is growing.

As an emergency service worker, I am used to helping others before myself. It is awkward for me to reach out to you like this, but I would appreciate any help your office can provide so that my family and others that suffer the same losses caused by the Jersey City sewer system can continue live a healthy and safe life in Jersey City.

I really don't know what else to do.

Respectfully,

Brett Davis
325 4th Street, Unit 1
Jersey City, NJ 07302
BrettLDavis@hotmail.com