NRP claims plumber abandoned The Flats apartment project, in $3.8M suit
The developer of The Flats at Westchester is suing a subcontractor for $3.8 million for allegedly misappropriating funds and walking away from the White Plains apartment project.
NRP Contractors II accused DC Plumbing & Heating Inc. of breach of contract in a Dec. 27 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
DC “breached the subcontract by, among other things, failing without excuse to timely perform and complete the work,” the complaint states, “and by abandoning the project altogether.”
“There are a lot of things that are not correct” in the complaint, DC”™s president, Bill Johnston, said in a brief telephone interview, “and a lot of misrepresentation.”
His attorney, Joseph McMahon of Garden City, said he does not comment on pending litigation, but generally DC disputes the allegations and he has filed a mechanics lien against NRP for unpaid work.
The Flats is a $95 million project at 1133 Westchester Ave., behind Maple Moor Golf Course and near the intersection of the Cross-Westchester Expressway and Hutchinson River Parkway.
The 70-acre site is controlled by RPW Group, of Rye Brook, and includes the Hospital for Special Surgery and an office building that was once used by IBM.
NRP Group, of Cleveland, is building three five-story apartment buildings with 303 dwellings, on a seldom-used parking lot behind the offices and hospital.
NRP Contractors awarded DC, of West Babylon, Suffolk County, a $4.5 million “time is of the essence” subcontract in August 2020, according to the complaint.
NRP claims that DC routinely failed to provide enough workers and failed to respond to calls, text messages and emails about the lack of workers.
DC also failed to deliver materials to the job site, including bathtubs and showers, according to the complaint, and refused to allow NRP to inspect materials for which the developer had paid more than $1 million.
NRP says it issued two default notices in October and urged DC to develop a plan for providing more workers, catching up with the project schedule, delivering the bathtubs and showers and granting access for inspecting materials.
Instead, NRP claims, DC responded that it had a right to terminate the contract, and then abandoned the job site and removed its equipment.
NRP hired All Renewable Energy Inc. to finish the work for nearly $4.7 million.
The developer claims it has incurred nearly $2.8 million in additional construction costs and lost more than $1 million on materials that were never delivered.
NRP is represented by White Plains attorney Brian T. Belowich.