$465K government plumber exposes NYC’s taxpayer-funded gravy train
A New York City Housing Authority plumber who earned nearly half a million dollars last year has become the latest symbol of a public housing system critics say is drowning in waste, mismanagement, and taxpayer-funded excess.
Jakub Markowski, a NYCHA plumbing supervisor, collected roughly $465,000 during the city’s 2025 fiscal year, including more than $332,000 in overtime pay after logging nearly 2,600 overtime hours. The staggering payout made him one of the highest-paid municipal employees in New York City and triggered investigations into his outside business activities.
According to city records, Markowski averaged more than seven hours of overtime per day, every day of the year. At the same time, records show he was connected to private plumbing businesses operating in New York, prompting scrutiny from the Department of Buildings and other city watchdogs.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other Democratic Socialists have pushed for a larger role for public and nonprofit ownership in housing, arguing that government intervention is needed to solve New York’s affordability crisis. Critics point to NYCHA as Exhibit A for why expanding government control may create more problems than it solves.
The plumber’s eye-popping paycheck is only one piece of a much larger story. In 2024, federal prosecutors charged 70 current and former NYCHA employees in what officials described as a sweeping bribery and extortion scheme involving public housing contracts. The Justice Department called it the largest single-day bribery takedown in its history. All defendants either pleaded guilty or were convicted.
Jakub Markowski, a NYCHA plumbing supervisor, collected roughly $465,000 during the city’s 2025 fiscal year, including more than $332,000 in overtime pay after logging nearly 2,600 overtime hours. The staggering payout made him one of the highest-paid municipal employees in New York City and triggered investigations into his outside business activities.
According to city records, Markowski averaged more than seven hours of overtime per day, every day of the year. At the same time, records show he was connected to private plumbing businesses operating in New York, prompting scrutiny from the Department of Buildings and other city watchdogs.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other Democratic Socialists have pushed for a larger role for public and nonprofit ownership in housing, arguing that government intervention is needed to solve New York’s affordability crisis. Critics point to NYCHA as Exhibit A for why expanding government control may create more problems than it solves.
The plumber’s eye-popping paycheck is only one piece of a much larger story. In 2024, federal prosecutors charged 70 current and former NYCHA employees in what officials described as a sweeping bribery and extortion scheme involving public housing contracts. The Justice Department called it the largest single-day bribery takedown in its history. All defendants either pleaded guilty or were convicted.
70-79, M
