406 15th Street: The Lawsuit
Starting in 2006, the construction work for a development at 406 15th Street was marked by what residents time and again alleged were less-than-best practices, to put it mildly: In July ’06, the DOB evacuated an adjacent building because construction at 406 made the structure “imminently perilous to life”; in October ’06, neighbors put together…
Starting in 2006, the construction work for a development at 406 15th Street was marked by what residents time and again alleged were less-than-best practices, to put it mildly: In July ’06, the DOB evacuated an adjacent building because construction at 406 made the structure “imminently perilous to life”; in October ’06, neighbors put together a video about how work at 406 was damaging adjacent structures; and, most recently, IMBY had a post early this year about how the underground parking garage at 406 constantly ventilated fumes into a neighboring backyard. It comes as no surprise, then, that 406 15th Street, which is a rental with people living in it, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed at the beginning of this year in New York State Supreme Court. The suit has been brought by the owners of the 8-unit rental at 1504 8th Avenue that was evacuated a few years ago and the insurance company that provided coverage for the building; it names 406 15th Street developer Jack LoCicero and architecture firm Bricolage among the defendants. The lawsuit has a laundry list of alleged negligent construction practices at 406 15th and reads, in part, “as a result of said negligence, damages were incurred by the plaintiffs for the cleanup, renovation, assessment, remediation, equipment, construction, renovation, repairs, labor and materials, loss of rents and costs in excess of $626,000.” So far, Bricolage and contractors that worked on 406 15th Street have filed answers to the plaintiff’s complaint denying all culpability.
406 15th Lawsuit Filings [Supreme Court]
Head-Pounding Nightmare on 15th Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
Reckless 15th Street Excavation Forces Evac [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Sticking It To Their South Slope Neighbors [Brownstoner]
What is with these shitty buildings and these fugly balconies? Can these guys think any more than a plain slab of concrete. Are quality material and workmanship really that far out of the reach of today’s small developer? Is it just greed, or would it really be unfeasible to create some late Victorian Gothic or pre-war style (like what’s being done on the Upper West side) building in BK. If they’re doing it in Manhattan it must be possible.
LOL
It does look like what I would picture a military hospital in Tel-Aviv looking like.
I notice some of these new facades I’m seeing do incorporate some pre-war type detail on the windows, etc. I wonder if this is the beginning of increased thoughtfullness or just a reluctant bone being thrown to the CB and neighborhood.
Karma’s a bitch!
After destroying all of the adjacent properties buildings or back yards, the LoCicero boys are now getting their just desserts. And this is not the only lawsuit in the mix.
I hope they get hung out to dry, then criminal charges following the civil.
And I just love the use of accessory parking (mandated by ZR) is being used as a commercial parking lot: http://tinyurl.com/parking-scumbags
Families like this should not be able to build in our fine borough…let along architects like Henry Radusky continue to practice his “Mediterranean-brutalism” style of design.
that building blocked my view of the statue of liberty, and is incredibly ugly, in a faux russian hasidic architect [not all of them just the un-talented ones] marble and vinyl windows sort of way…
one building condemmed and the one next door full of cracks and looking un-stable? they deserved to get sued big time…
[though i like that they have zip car in the basement 🙂