Diplomat Towers in Mount Kisco alleges that $1.4M balcony work was substandard

A $1.4 million balcony repair project at the Diplomat Towers in Mount Kisco fell short, according to a lawsuit that claims the work was substandard.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 17 in Westchester Supreme Court by 200 Diplomat Drive Corp., based at Stillman Property Management in Harrison, against Windham Contracting Corp. and Windham Restoration Corp. of Brooklyn and Grossfield Macri Consulting Engineers PC of Mount Kisco.

Diplomat Towers Mount Kisco — A view of the balconies at Diplomat Towers.

“The contractor failed to perform the work in accordance with the contract,” the complaint states, “and in a good and workmanlike manner.”

Diplomat Towers is a cooperative composed of two buildings with 226 apartments. The co-op hired the firms in 2014 to repair and waterproof the balconies.

Grossfield Macri prepared the project manual and the Windham companies did the work, the complaint states, for an agreed-upon price of $1,406,200.

The two-and-a-half-year project was finished in January 2017. Diplomat Towers claims it paid all but $4,760 of the contract.

Diplomat accused Windham of failure to install concrete slabs correctly, install drip edges to the balcony ceilings, paint under suitable conditions and with proper preparation, pitch the floor slabs, properly install floor coating, install the correct size railings, submit manufacturers”™ warranties, do punch list work as well as improperly billing and accepting $100,000 that had been set aside for successful completion of the project.

Email messages requesting comment from Windham were returned as undeliverable.

Diplomat accused Grossfield Macri of negligence, for failure to inspect the execution of the work, report on the acceptability of the work and for approving payment requisitions to which Windham was not entitled.

The engineering firm did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Diplomat charged Windham with breach of contract and breach of warranty. It charged Grossfield Macri with professional malpractice and breach of contract.

The cooperative is demanding $650,000 to fix the alleged defective work.

Windham had sued Diplomat for $43,677 in June in Westchester Supreme Court for breach of contract and foreclosure of a 2017 mechanic”™s lien. That case was discontinued by stipulation by both sides on Oct. 4, two weeks before Diplomat sued Windham.

Diplomat is represented by Mona D. Shapiro of Mount Kisco. Windham was represented in the mechanic’s lien case by Constantine T. Tzifas of Manhattan.