A plumbing contractor that worked on the Hudson Piers housing project in Yonkers claims it was fired unlawfully for refusing to do dangerous work.
DC Plumbing & Heating of NY Corp. accused Platinum Developers LLC of breach of contract, in a complaint filed on June 18 in Westchester Supreme Court.
Platinum acted in bad faith, the complaint states, when DC refused to “perform underground repair work without proper certification and under dangerously unsafe conditions.”
Extell Development Company, Manhattan, is engaged in a $500 million-plus project to construct seven buildings with nearly 1,400 apartments and commercial space on a 20-acre site along the Hudson River near downtown Yonkers.
Extell hired Platinum Developers, Lakewood, New Jersey, as the general contractor on two 7-story buildings at 159 Alexander St., according to the complaint. Platinum hired DC Plumbing, of West Babylon, Suffolk County, as a subcontractor.
Historically, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 159 Alexander Street site had been used for storing coal, lumber and castor oil; boat building; and until 2012, bag manufacturing. Contaminated soil and water had to be cleaned up, under the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
DC Plumbing says it commenced work in March 2022, detected broken underground pipes in November 2022, and scoped the problem with cameras and created drawings by March 2023.
DC says it repeatedly complained about problems and delays. By August 2023, the complaint states, some pipes were still covered, and in December 2023, DC told Platinum it would not repair the pipes unless it was safe.
DC was told to begin the repairs on Dec. 18, 2023, according to the complaint, but company president William Johnston objected because his crew had not been trained by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to work in tunnels and confined spaces.
Extell and Platinum scheduled an OSHA training session for Dec. 15, 2023, and six DC employees participated.
An OSHA representative allegedly told DC’s foreman that no work should be done until the workers received OSHA certifications, and that the air in the tunnels would have to be monitored. But Platinum, the complaint states, did not have an air monitor.
Given the lack of OSHA training and an air monitor, DC refused to do the underground repairs, according to the complaint. On Dec. 26, 2023, DC employes were denied entry to the job site and the contract was terminated. By then, the deal, including change orders, was worth more than $6.8 million.
DC is accusing Platinum of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. It is demanding $656,793 for work and materials already provided.
Platinum did not reply to a request for comment that was submitted through its website.
