Adam Leitman Bailey_Condo of

Posh-pad
spore war
Toxic mold forced a cancer-stricken
Manhattan
woman to flee her East
Side penthouse more than
a year ago, but building
management is still making her pay the maintenance and demanding
rent, she charges in a lawsuit.
Joanne Payson says she
was forced to abandon her
home at 50 Sutton Place
South in June 2008 after
water leaks from a faulty
roof left the apartment
ridden with mold — which
she believes caused her to
contract two respiratory
infections while undergoing chemotherapy.
Payson had the air tested
in October 2006 after she
was diagnosed with lymphoma and confirmed the
presence of the mold.
But she alleges in a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court that building
managers Brown Harris
Stevens ignored the problem and endangered her
health.
A Brown Harris Stevens
spokeswoman
declined
comment.
Kathianne Boniello
Condo of nightmares
Broke builder, permit woes put families on edge
By ANNIE KARNI
They’re living in a purgatory between a deadbeat
developer and cold city bureaucrats.
Christian Viveros-Faune
and his wife, Lisa Johnson,
sank their life savings into
a $405,000 duplex apartment at a new development at 201 Spencer St. in
Bedford-Stuyvesant
in
2004.
Five years later, the couple cannot sell, rent or refinance their home. They
risk being evicted, one of
72 families caught in a
dream-crushing Catch-22.
Developer Mendel Brach
says he’s too broke to fix
unsound walls, electrical
and plumbing problems,
mold and a faulty sprinkler
system. Banks will not loan
residents money to fix
problems themselves because they don’t have certificates of occupancy. The
Photos: J.C. Rice
New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2009
nypost.com
18
‘ZERO VALUE’: Christian Viveros-Faune and wife Lisa
Johnson face the loss of a home at this Brooklyn site.
city refuses to issue the
certificates because of the
unsafe conditions.
“Our apartment has zero
value and all of our money
is here,” said Johnson, 44,
who was laid off from her
corporate
human-resources job in January.
“Now we have zero savings in a recession.”
In 2003, the city greenlighted Brach’s construction of several nine-story
residential towers. He obtained a variance because
he claimed the units would
house faculty for a nearby
school.
At the same time, Brach
filed an offering plan with
the state Attorney Gener-
al’s Office to sell 90 units
as open-market condos. In
2004, when the city discovered the oversized tower
did not, in fact, house
teachers, and had other violations, it refused to grant
the owners permanent certificates.
Now, many units are falling into foreclosure and
Post Weather Report
Sunday
Peekskill
59/39
N.Y.
Tomorrow:
Mostly sunny and
pleasant. High 57
to 63.
Tonight: Clear.
Low 45 to 51.
Tomorrow
night: Partly
cloudy. Low 46 to
52.
Tuesday
Partly sunny.
High 59 to
65.
Evening
Evening
Clear. Low 46 to 52.
Sussex
61/37
Newark
62/44
Asbury Park
62/43
Fair. Low 49 to 55.
Almanac
Manasquan
63/43
YESTERDAY'S CONDITIONS AT CENTRAL PARK THROUGH 12PM
Temperature
Departure from Normal
Precipitation
Yesterday: 0.55", Month: 2.24", Year:
41.41", Normal year to date: 40.47"
Heating Degree days yesterday ..................6
Total for the month...................................244
Total since July 1 .......................................281
Last season................................................221
Wind Chill (at noon yest.) ........................ 64
UV index (for Sun.) ................ 3 (Moderate)
Humidity (at noon) ................................ 97%
AIR QUALITY
Pollen: Absent.
AQI rating: (for Sun.)....................................Good
White Plains
59/42
Garden
City
60/45
La G
63/50
Stamford Bridgeport
60/40
62/44
Montauk
61/46
Riverhead
62/37
Huntington
60/43
JFK
60/46
Deer Park
60/44
Long Beach
60/46
Sandy Hook
63/45
Forecast data is current as of 12
p.m. yesterday. Temperatures are
today's highs and tonight's lows.
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, ccloudy, sh-showers, r-rain, t-thunderstorms,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice
Toms River
61/42
High: 65, Low: 52, Mean: 59
Yesterday: +5 degrees
CONN.
Paterson
61/38
Wednesday
Clouds, sun.
High 59 to 65.
akarni@nypost.com
For current forecasts go to:
Monday
Today: Mostly
sunny, breezy and
cooler. High 57 to
63.
some residents are abandoning their homes.
“I moved out” a few
weeks ago, said Ronda
Thompson, 37, who owns a
$280,000 one-bedroom and
was laid off by American
Express last year. “If I
could have sold the apartment, I would be renting
something right now in
New York.” Instead, she
has moved back in with
her parents in California.
In July, the attorney representing the apartment
owners, Adam Leitman
Bailey, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo won a
judgment against Brach for
$10.9 million. But Brach
claimed he had no money
— even though he grossed
$25 million on the condos.
Brach’s lawyer did not
return messages.
“We’re going after every
dime,” said Bailey.
Southampton
62/41
Forecasts and graphics
provided by
AccuWeather.com ©2009
Sun and Moon
Sunrise today .................... 7:18 a.m.
Sunset tonight .................. 6:01 p.m.
Moonrise today ................. 1:57 p.m.
Moonset today ................ 11:55 p.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Oct 25
Nov 2
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Seattle
51/46
Showers
T-storms
Billings
50/30
N.J.
Rain
Minneapolis
50/36
San Francisco
71/57
Long Beach
64/43
Flurries
Detroit
56/44
Chicago
57/44
Denver
48/26
New York
63/50
Washington
66/46
Kansas City
62/42
Los Angeles
78/60
-0s
0s
Ice
Fronts
Cold
10s
Warm
Houston
79/66
Shown are noon positions of
weather systems and precipitation.
Temperature bands are highs for the
day. Forecast high/low temperatures
are given for selected cities.
-10s
Snow
Atlanta
70/46
El Paso
77/51
Atlantic City
64/40
Ocean City
62/43
Nov 16
Nov 9
Miami
86/77
20s
30s
40s
50s
60s
70s
80s
Stationary
90s
100s
110s
New York Tides
High Tide for
Coney Island
Fire Island
Hempstead
Huntington
Jones Inlet
Montauk Point
Port Washington
Sandy Hook
NYPOST.com
TODAY
1st
2nd
1:30a 1:43p
12:54a 1:07p
1:52a 2:05p
5:02a 5:21p
1:14a 1:27p
2:50a 3:19p
5:38a 5:35p
1:34a 1:47p
TOMORROW
1st
2nd
2:22a 2:35p
1:46a 1:59p
2:44a 2:57p
5:58a 6:19p
2:06a 2:19p
3:55a 4:21p
6:41a 6:52p
2:26a 2:39p
Regional cities
Albany
Danbury
Glens Falls
Gr Barrington
Kingston
Liberty
Monticello
Newburgh
Poughkeepsie
Saratoga Springs
Stroudsburg
Torrington
Syracuse
TODAY
58/36/pc
61/35/pc
56/27/pc
56/33/pc
60/36/pc
56/33/pc
56/33/pc
59/36/pc
62/36/pc
57/32/pc
58/36/pc
61/34/pc
54/35/pc
TOMORROW
58/38/s
59/40/s
56/34/pc
58/37/s
62/38/s
60/38/s
60/38/s
60/39/s
62/38/s
58/37/pc
61/40/s
57/40/s
60/42/c
World cities
Athens
Baghdad
Beijing
Berlin
Cairo
Dublin
Geneva
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
Kabul
London
Madrid
Mexico City
Montreal
Moscow
Paris
Rio de Janeiro
Rome
Sydney
Tokyo
TODAY
72/66/t
77/59/c
75/48/pc
56/42/r
90/68/s
55/42/c
64/48/pc
84/75/s
80/61/s
75/28/s
64/46/pc
71/54/sh
72/50/t
52/32/pc
35/20/c
65/47/s
88/74/s
70/54/s
70/64/r
68/61/r
TOMORROW
70/67/sh
85/58/s
73/46/pc
52/41/sh
89/69/pc
55/52/c
62/43/pc
86/77/s
85/62/s
73/31/s
62/48/pc
72/54/s
71/49/t
48/39/pc
39/39/i
63/47/s
84/72/c
72/54/pc
67/62/sh
69/60/r