The developer of The Mill retail and housing project in Yonkers claims that a Bronx company hired to install elevators submitted bogus invoices.
Rishi Nangalia is demanding more than $300,000 from Ali Santiago and Magnum Elevator LLC for a job that was contracted for $194,712.
Nangalia, his 222 Lake Partners, and construction manager Integrated Project Delivery Partners Inc. say they were placed “at a severe disadvantage,” according to a complaint filed June 30 in Westchester Supreme Court, to complete the elevator project and derive rental income from tenants.
Santiago and Magnum did not reply to an email message asking for their side of the story.
The Mill is part of the massive Alexander Smith Carpet Mills complex that was built in the 1800s and early 1900s along the Saw Mill River in the Getty Square neighborhood. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and incorporated into a new arts district in 2016.
Nangalia’s 222 Lake Partners bought the 55,000 square foot warehouse at 222 Lake Avenue for about $2.7 million in 2019. His plan was to rebuild parts of the structure damaged in a 2017 fire, renovate the dilapidated building, update the plumbing and electrical systems, install new elevators, and more.
Interiors that featured high ceilings and large windows to accommodate carpet-making would be converted to retail space, offices and loft apartments.
Santiago, who had supervised elevator projects for many year, founded Magnum Elevator in 2017, according to a state corporations record.
Magnum was hired in 2021 to remove the old elevators and install new elevators for $194,712, according to contracts filed with the complaint. The developer paid a $97,000 deposit.
But Magnum never paid for supplies or hired subcontractors, according to the complaint. Instead, it allegedly submitted fictitious invoices to make the developer believe that subcontractors had been hired and paid.
The developer had to expend “vast sums of money to hire alternative professionals to complete the work,” the complaint states.
Nangalia, 222 Lake Partners and Integrated Project Delivery Partners are demanding $300,000 for alleged fraud, $200,000 for misrepresenting the work, $97,000 for the deposit, and $30,000 for legal fees.
They are represented by Yonkers attorney Jacqueline N. Boone.
