Fancy New UES Building Is Smelly, Leaky And Unsafe, Lawsuit Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Residents of a Lenox Hill luxury condo are suing the companies that built it, saying the brand-new building is plagued by shoddy construction that causes water leaks, safety issues and putrid smells.

The seven-story building at 165 E. 62nd St., between Lexington and Third avenues, was completed in 2020, described in marketing materials as a "top of the line boutique luxury condominium" in the Upper East Side's "most desirable" area.

But residents of the building's 10 apartments tell a very different story, alleging they have been "left with a building rife with defective conditions" that go against government regulations, harm their quality of life and break promises made to them before they bought their homes.

The lawsuit was filed Friday by the building's condo board against Churchill Real Estate Holdings, the building's developer and sponsor, as well as Countywide Builders, the contractor that handled construction.

"Most egregious" among the building's flaws is its permeable exterior, which has led to leaks on its roof, walls, windows and doors that caused water damage throughout the apartments and "copious flooding" in the basement, the suit says.

Residents list 71 different building features that they say are deficient, including poorly installed wood floors, molding and trims; cracked bathroom tiling; faulty kitchen ranges; excessive noise caused by a lack of soundproofing; and bad ventilation that leads to "sewage odors" — making it "extremely difficult for residents to enjoy their homes peacefully and quietly."

"The list goes on and on and on," the suit says.

$12,500 in fines

Of even greater concern are the lack of fire doors and damaged fireproofing around the building — a city code violation that creates a "real risk of a fire quickly spreading through the Building," the suit alleges.

Problems at 165 E. 62nd St. began even before the building opened: Records show that the city issued a stop-work order in October 2020 for hazardous construction issues — followed by additional violations when work continued despite the stop-work order.

Countywide owes a combined $12,500 in fines for faulty weatherproofing, expired permits and violating the stop-work order, according to the Department of Buildings.

The dire conditions amount to breach of contract, negligence and fraud, since the developer gave no indication of the building's faults when it sold the apartments starting in 2019, the lawsuit says. (The units sold for between $2.1 million and $4.9 million each, according to Streeteasy records.)

The lawsuit asks for a minimum of $8 million each in damages from Churchill and Countywide. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment on Monday.

The upscale blocks of East 62nd Street have seen their share of construction controversy in recent months: Just one block east, the owner of the townhouse at 210 E. 62nd St. has been embroiled in a battle with neighbors and the city after building an extension that had not been allowed by the landmarks commission.

Have an Upper East Side news tip? Contact reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.