Forum Archive

Dear neighbors:

Several folks in Park Slope and surrounding neighborhoods have dealt with Brian Ackerman at Brooklyn Kitchens (formerly known as Garfield Kitchens) for their kitchen cabinets, bathrooms, and similar items. While through the years (as evidenced by many local blogs, mailing lists, etc.), he has been a nightmare to deal with, lately, with the downturn in the economy, it appears he is acting in a fraudulent manner.

In the past it appears he has used deposits received from new customers to satisfy the orders for prior customers. There’s a phrase for that–it’s called a Ponzi scheme. And as we know, when the money stops coming in, the scheme collapses. With the recent downturn in the economy, the money stopped coming in.

A number of local residents have given Brooklyn Kitchens large sums of money, up into the high five figures, and he has failed to deliver product. Some of those customers are attorneys. Several of these customers have obtained judgments against him in court. Some new lawsuits have been filed against him as recently as this week.

I had a close call with Brooklyn Kitchens myself. I ordered everything I needed for a gut rehab of our South Slope townhome, at the end of 2007, and just barely got it all. The last item, glass shower doors, took six months to be delivered.

I started a website to alert my neighbors to my experiences. It can be found at whybrooklynkitchens.com . It has been instrumental in bring a number of aggrieved customers together. Don’t miss the email section:

http://whybrooklynkitchens.com/emails.html

Today I attended a meeting in the office of a Manhattan law firm with the attorneys of a number of defrauded clients. The attorneys will be meeting with the Attorney General in the next couple of weeks. The objective will be to press criminal charges against Mr. Ackerman, not just civil charges.

It appears Brooklyn Kitchens may be out of business. Reports indicate the store has been closed for a week.

Your neighbors are asking for your help in building a case against him. If you have had any bad experiences, particularly bad experiences that resulted in a financial loss, we are interested in hearing from you, and if desired, add you to the list of plaintiffs to which any settlement could be distributed.

Please email me, denton@speakeasy.net with comments or experiences.