Waterwheel Condominium in Ardsley is leaky and moldy, the homeowners association claims, and owners of the low-cost housing blame the developers.
The homeowners association is demanding $1 million from developer Ardsley Waterwheel Partners, project architect Conrad J. Roncati and real estate broker Matthew Perasso in a lawsuit filed June 17 in Westchester Supreme Court.
Buyers “were promised a pathway to homeownership,” the complaint states, “only to find that they were defrauded, received false promises, and are now forced to suffer through worse living conditions than ”¦ they had hoped to escape.”
Roncati, the principal in Ardsley Waterwheel Partners and CEO of Architectura Inc., both in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Perasso did not respond to email requests for their side of the story.
Waterwheel Condominium is composed of 22 dwellings in four buildings along Saw Mill River Road, across from V. E. Macy Park.
The town of Greenburgh acquired the land in a foreclosure sale. The town required the property to be developed as low-cost housing and in 2013 sold it to Ardsley Waterwheel Partners.
The developer agreed to designate 17 dwellings as affordable housing for households making no more than 80% of Westchester”™s area median income, and five as workforce housing, for households making no more than 120% of the area median income.
The first condo was sold in March 2017.
The condos must be free of defects for one year from poor workmanship or substandard materials, according to the offering plan; two years for plumbing, electrical, heating and ventilation systems; and six years for foundations, floors, walls and roof framing.
The homeowners association claims that the materials and construction deviated from these standards.
Roofs and exteriors leak, the homeowners association claims. High levels of moisture have caused significant water damage. “Disturbing levels of mold” pose a health hazard to residents.
For example, there is no insulation behind sheetrock on sections of interior walls, according to the complaint. Foundations are not waterproofed and do not have a continuous vapor barrier. Windows were installed with inferior masonry and no flashing and sills are angled incorrectly.
Roncati and Perasso were the only members of the homeowners association from March 2017 through June 2019, the complaint states. They allegedly deferred maintenance, failed to fix defects, and delayed transferring control of the homeowners association “to avoid bearing the expense.”
The homeowners association accuses the developer of breaches of contract and warranty. It accuses Roncati and Perasso of breach of fiduciary duty.
The association is represented by Yonkers attorney Ryan P. Kaupelis.
