Friday, September 23, 2016

Arverne owners file lawsuit over poor construction


From Crains:

Households who bought affordable condominiums in a city-sponsored Queens development are now stuck with $10 million in repairs due to shoddy construction, a lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges.

On Sept. 1, the condo board for Waters Edge at Arverne sued the Briarwood Organization and its principals, which built the 130-unit complex in the Rockaways after winning a request for proposals issued by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The board is seeking a total of about $150 million from the developer and another $60 million from the project's designers, AIA Architects.

Waters Edge, a development for low- and moderate-income households, was approved during the Bloomberg administration and completed in 2009. The complex is composed of 65 two-story buildings featuring a condo unit on each floor. The average cost for a two-bedroom unit was $188,000 and $300,000 for a three-bedroom.

Among several causes of action, the suit alleges that gutters, roofs and the frames of doors and windows were improperly installed and sealed, which has led to standing water, leaks and structural water damage. The findings were detailed in a 2015 report commissioned by the law firm Adam Leitman Bailey, which is representing the board. Many of the boilers in the complex were also installed contrary to the manufacturer's directions, residents said, which has left some homes without enough heat and causes a particular room to remain perpetually cold.

Additionally, the suit claims at least two aspects of Waters Edge's design violate the city's building code, even though the plans were approved by the city's Department of Buildings. For example, a valve to shut off the water supply to the apartments should be located in each unit, according to building code. But at Waters Edge, valves for both units in a house are located in the first floor condo. Similarly, the electric code states that every resident will have "ready access" to a box of circuit breakers. But in the complex, both circuit-breaker boxes are located within the top unit's garage. According to a Buildings Department spokesman, the city conducted several audits of the blueprints before construction began, but did not cite the owner for the locations of the water shut-off valves or circuit boxes.

12 comments:

senior citizen said...

Shulman was pushing hard for this shit.
Check your history.
There once was an Arverne that got wiped out by a hurricane.
I hope these shit boxes can float.
They were pushing these for senior citizens as a utopia do retirement by the sea.
I got one of their early ad flyers.

JQ LLC said...

I thought these buildings looked rushed and superficial.

These were supposed to spur gentrification in the Rockaways too. And it was Helen's little baby right?

from the archives:

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2013/04/hurry-and-develop-more-of-arverne.html

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2009/08/bloomberg-uses-federal-stimulus-money.html

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2007/01/gentrifying-rockaways.html

that last one is great, and it's amazing that you kept this site going for 10 years crappy.

JQ LLC said...

That's right it was Schulman. This project and concept must go back to the early 90's I assume. So this initially was going to be a haven for retirees that devolved into a hotspot for Generation Gentrification.

Anonymous said...

Do you think building these shit boxes 100 feet from the Atlantic Ocean was a good idea? Someone, including some politicians made a bundle on tricking these homeowners .

Anonymous said...

Hoping another Superstorm does not come.
Houses will be wiped out.
All it has to take is one hurricane damaged house I am out of there. Get away from living near the water. Bad news.

Anonymous said...

You get what you pay for.

Did you think it was going to be Mar-a-Lago?

Anonymous said...

Time to follow the money.

Anonymous said...

It's not hurricanes that you should be losing sleep over. It's the gang banger drug dealers in the NYCHA houses and Ocean View Village. FEMA money made the outside pretty but it's the same dangerous crap. All those houses have metal bars on the windows because they've been broken into so many times. Read the online paper https://onrockaway.com/

Averne by the Sea is on the other side. more expensive crap with lazy guys in security guard uniforms drive around. I don't know who they could protect if anything happened, they would just call 911.

Anonymous said...

I did a month on grand jury duty last year, and it seemed like the majority of the cases dealt with crimes and gang activity in Far Rockaway.

JQ LLC said...

Onrockaway is a great site. Every day there's a report on a shooting, gang activity and other crimes. I don't know how all these hipshits feel safe venturing out there and how all these trendy spots are opening up, especially on the boardwalk. I wonder how the precinct keep the gangbangers at bay.

What's funny is when the train passes by Averne those new buildings look so pretty. It almost resembles a resort spot in Aruba or Miami. It's all surface.

what a swindle the developers and realtors pull on these tenants and homeowners. And what the city is pulling to assist in the gentrification of the beach.

Anonymous said...

Lots 'o luck.
You lost a fortune buying this crap.
Now you'll lose more to a lawyer.
Maybe chapter 11 is the way to go.

Anonymous said...

Lmao!! Their lawyer is going to wipe this place clean!! Why is this story in the press?!?! Lawsuits like this are common!! Why is this one out there!! It's officially Unmarketable!! I'm The