A New York City Housing Authority plumber who claimed nearly 2,600 hours of overtime while simultaneously running two private plumbing businesses now faces multiple investigations into his $465,000 annual paycheck from taxpayers.
Staggering Overtime Claims Trigger Probe
Jakub Markowski, 41, a plumbing supervisor at NYCHA, logged 2,558 overtime hours during the 2025 fiscal year, raking in $332,000 in extra pay on top of his $118,000 base salary. To accumulate that much overtime, Markowski would have needed to work an average of seven additional hours every single day for 365 consecutive days. His extraordinary compensation made him the fifth-highest-paid city employee and the government’s biggest overtime earner, according to the Empire Center watchdog.
Plumber who's one of NYC's highest-paid employees under investigation over $500K paycheck https://t.co/9pZwU6MP5j pic.twitter.com/Ybfo2tqoQg
— New York Post (@nypost) July 8, 2026
The city Department of Buildings launched an investigation after receiving complaints about Markowski’s business practices. The city Department of Investigation confirmed it is scrutinizing the plumber but declined to specify whether the probe focuses on his overtime claims, private businesses, or both matters.
Running Private Companies on Public Time
While drawing his substantial NYCHA paycheck, Markowski operated two private plumbing companies: Super Plumbers Corp. NYC and Dynamic Blue Water Mechanical, according to state records. The arrangement prompted sharp criticism from the Plumbing Foundation of New York, a nonprofit trade group that filed a complaint questioning how a city employee could manage private enterprises while accumulating record overtime hours.
Executive Director April McIver told investigators that allowing an individual to run a private plumbing business while serving as a city supervisor and accruing more overtime than any other city employee raises serious concerns about integrity, safety, and oversight of NYCHA operations. She characterized the situation as beyond wasteful.
Wife Says He Works Seven Days Weekly
Markowski lives in an upscale apartment building off the Rockaway Beach boardwalk and did not respond to requests for comment. His wife, Elizabeth Markwowska, 63, defended her husband’s work ethic. She said he works seven days a week, comes home late, and maintains very hard-working habits. She claimed someone else manages his two plumbing businesses and said she was unaware he ranked as the city’s highest-paid plumber.
When initially questioned about the extraordinary overtime, NYCHA officials attributed the hours to extensive plumbing and heating demands that are mandated and monitored by law. The agency declined further comment. The Department of Buildings conducted a sweep of active plumbing jobs where Markowski served as the permit holder to verify safety compliance. That review found no violations.
Taxpayer Accountability Questions
The investigation highlights broader concerns about municipal employee overtime policies and potential conflicts of interest when public workers operate private businesses in their same field. The case raises questions about oversight mechanisms designed to prevent abuse of taxpayer-funded compensation systems and whether adequate supervision exists to ensure city employees prioritize their public duties over private business interests.