Condo Owners Sue NYC Buildings Over Sandy Damage

A flood of lawsuits is rising against condo buildings in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. After the luxury condominium tower One57 was sued last week, residents now are suing 2 Gold Street, 201 Pearl Street and the Greenwich Club Residences. 

Condo owners of the Greenwich Club Residences, at 88 Greenwich Street, launched a $35-million derivative suit against the board and the manager of the property. The plaintiffs claim that the building took no precautions against Sandy. The building remains “completely uninhabitable” and unsafe after suffering storm damage and is not expected to reopen for weeks. The building management said: 

“The Department of Buildings has deemed 88 Greenwich ‘Unsafe’ and has posted signs to this effect on the building... There is no electricity, no lights, no elevators, no fire safety systems, no heat, no water, no working plumbing, and no functioning toilets. Based on current conditions, it does not appear that the building will be habitable in the short term, meaning a few weeks to more than a month."

Meanwhile, 2 Gold Street and 201 Pearl Street, both developed by TF Cornerstone, have been declared uninhabitable until March 1 because of safety and health dangers. Residents are answering with a class-action lawsuit against the buildings and TF Cornerstone. The residents claim that TF Cornerstone was negligent in preparing for the storm and failed to protect the building against Sandy. A resident claimed: 

“No sandbags were placed in front of the entrance to the parking garage, nor were any other effective precautions taken with respect to the garage entrance and the perimeter of the property.”

Other residents reported, after going back to the building to pick up some personal property, that many apartment doors were open and numerous items were missing. 

The developer wrote on its website, “Please be assured that security has been, and will remain, our paramount concern.”

All three buildings were in the Zone A declared by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That means that the buildings were evacuated and had a potential for “flooding from any hurricane.” Despite that warning, however, the residents claim that the buildings did not take necessary precautions.