Unimak claims Rye Brook owes $1M for mismanaged project

A contractor claims that the village of Rye Brook is withholding $1 million for work done on a project that the village itself mismanaged.

“There is no justification” for withholding payments, Unimak LLC, of Saddle Brook, New Jersey, claims in a March 4 lawsuit filed in Westchester Supreme Court, because it “performed all of its work in a good and workmanlike manner.”

Village Administrator Chris Bradbury declined to comment, stating in an email that “Rye Brook has not yet been served with this suit.”

The village hired Unimak in 2018 to build a public works and parks facility at 511 W. William St., for $9 million. Another $600,000 was authorized for changes, the complaint states.

The project was beset by numerous delays, according to Unimak, because the village failed to properly coordinate and schedule contractors or to make timely crucial decisions.

The job site was allegedly not cleaned for the start of work, for example; water was not provided for demolition; gas was not turned on for more than two months; a request for information about discrepancies on drawings was not reviewed for two months.

There were unforeseen delays, too, such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to remove 500 tons of contaminated soil that was discovered when an underground storage tank was removed.

Unimak said it had to add manpower, accelerate work and incur others costs in response to delays.

Even so, Unimak “did complete its work on this project,” the lawsuit states, “but Rye Brook continues to refuse to issue payment for that completed work.”

The contractor accuses the village of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, gross negligence and violation of the state Prompt Payment Act.

Unimak is represented by Hackensack, New Jersey attorney Matthew Lakind.