Beware of the sinking houses

From the Queens Chronicle:  

The Lin family vacated their home more than a month ago when construction on a neighboring house rendered theirs unsafe. According to Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who is trying to help them, the family spent a few nights at a hotel, but because of costs, is now living with friends and family with no move-back date in sight. 

The house next door at 50-30 64 St. in Wynwood Gardens, a residential area off of 65th Place where Woodside meets Maspeth, was abandoned several years ago when the owners went into foreclosure. 

At some point Bank of America and New York Mellon Corp. acquired the property and attempted to reconstruct the ailing structure. Wynwood Gardens has faced adversity since its creation. 

The neighborhood is built on top of a creek — which may or may not be still running... — that was covered with dirt from the construction of Rockefeller Center in the 1930s. 

Many of the homes’ foundations were reinforced by the government a few years back, 64th Street resident John Coles said, but not at the problem house. “It sunk 10 feet about three months ago [during construction],” Coles added. That’s when the Department of Buildings issued a partial stop-work order on June 20, followed by a full stop order on Aug. 21. 

The Lins, who live in the brick house adjacent to 50-30 64 St., were mandated by the DOB to vacate their home on Aug. 17. The order states that the adjacent home was “creating a hazardous condition to occupants.”

From NY1:

Homeowners Claudette and Alban Yarde of Brownsville, Brooklyn worry that the house next door is slowly sinking and taking theirs with it. The house has a clear two-inch gap, where the brick is literally lifting off of the foundation. The cracks in the concrete of the Yardes' backyard are unsettling as well. 

The couple says the owner of the house next door died four years ago and it's been abandoned ever since. After the Yardes contacted NY1, the station located the deceased owner's son, Wade Jenkins. Jenkins told NY1 he knows the foundation of the house is cracked and says he has received estimates of $100,000 to fix the foundation but claims he doesn’t have the money.