Neighbor Tearing My Wall!
We live in a brownstone that pretty much like all brownstones in Brooklyn is right next to the neighbor’s. Our next door neighbor has always been doing slight remos here and there but his latest one seems like trouble. He has been hammering as if with a sledge hammer a hole out of his basement…
We live in a brownstone that pretty much like all brownstones in Brooklyn is right next to the neighbor’s. Our next door neighbor has always been doing slight remos here and there but his latest one seems like trouble. He has been hammering as if with a sledge hammer a hole out of his basement to create and egress and regress door. I know he has no permits for this job and he’s doing it himself. Our common wall seems to be under stress since we can hear crumbling sounds inside the dry wall. These neighbors have been really difficult and unfriendly, but at the same time we’re afraid the retaliation with the BD on our end if we say anything. We need advice…
Call DOB asap. Our neighbor’s plumber broke a hole in our party wall. We were able to see his boot through the gap. The plumber thought it was a great joke. Luckily our neighbor didn’t and had it fixed quickly (so we didn’t have to resort to lawyers or insurance policies, thank g**) — but not before a DOB inspector showed up and gave him hell. The party walls are often more vulnerable than you’d imagine. All this deference to Victorian building standards is really nonsense. In past renovations, our neighbor has caused hairline cracks on our side — as we have on his.
Sam, as usual I appreciate your knowledge with things like this – am astounded actually.
And I especially liked your explanation about the house crumbling at Myrtle — your description about the old foundations and all the rest.
It is late and you might not read this.
Call a professional – engineer or architect, then a lawyer.
The “crumbling” sound could be as simple as old plaster keys falling between the lathe and the brick, or behind your drywall. It could also be something a lot more dire.
Call the DOB.
Or go take a look at the collapsed rubble on Myrtle and then call the DOB.
Oy vey!
If you know for a fact that they have no DOB permits you have guilty knowledge. You must contact the DOB as soon as possible. Calling 311 is your best bet. People can’t just take sledge hammers to the exterior walls of buildings in NYC. We don’t live in the slums of a Third World country.
Explain to the DOB that your complaint needs to be anonymous. They will send an inspector, stop the work, and make your neighbor hire a licensed engineer. That’s the way it’s done in the United States.
I would check with your insurance company to see if you are covered against a worst-case scenario… My guess is probably not. Is he enlarging an already existing opening or starting from scratch? Is this below grade work? Is he going to excavate a stairwell?
Sounds like an advanced project with the potential for failure to be high. I would just casually remark that you are experiencing some movement as a result of the ongoing construction. Maybe ask him about his prior experience with this type of work. The name of his engineer? Not sure how the DOB will help except to issue a stop work order and a violation… if he allows them access…
The non-DOB and non-attorney route:
You should consult an engineer. Have him/her come out for about an hour or so ($100-200? Less than a violation or two and most certainly less than an attorney.) to assess the condition of your wall.
The egress/regress door is on a different plane and demolition would hinder the party wall only by vibration. But most wall collapses happen due to adjacent excavation and consequent disturbance of soil, not structural vibration (unless wall is in very poor condition). Research this.
BTW, why did Myrtle building collapse? If not by vibration and no other NYC brownstone case studies can be found that indicate such a risk of collapse, it might not be a problem. These party walls were built to last forever so long as the foundation is good.
***Bid half off peak comps***
how do people with party walls in brownstones deal with the peeping tom problem?!
*rob*
Way too many syllables to be a haiku.