The news was delivered in the form of a letter to the…
By Chris Fuchs
The Briarwood homeowners whose houses had mysteriously developed cracks in late January were finally given an explanation last week of what had caused the seeming phenomenon: unsatisfactory soil.
The news was delivered in the form of a letter to the homeowners of at least five homes on either 59th Street or 84th Avenue — the two blocks in Briarwood affected — written on Feb. 5 by a professional engineer at the city Department of Buildings.
The letter explained that the results of a boring test, in which the department had to tunnel through the ground to collect soil samples, indicated that “the soil type is of unsatisfactory bearing material. The presence of this type of soil might have contributed to the cracks and damage in your building.”
Some residents speculated that the cracks may have developed because of a water main that ruptured last September as crews were replacing a sewer line. A spokesman for the Department of Buildings, Paul Wein, refused to comment on this theory, saying there was “no way to make that determination” yet.
The letter went on to say that the homeowners were expected to hire either a licensed engineer or a registered architect to assess the damage to their houses, leaving one critical question unanswered, at least until late April the earliest: Who will foot the cost?
“The issue is whether the city is liable,” said David Neustadt, a spokesman for the city comptroller’s office. “If it is, then it would be responsible for the cost of repairs. And if people feel they need to hire engineers or architects, that’s basically a decision for them to make.”
The city comptroller’s office is the first step in making that determination. In general, city residents whose residences have been compromised structurally and who have been displaced from their homes — like the people in the five houses in Briarwood — are given 90 days from the day on which they are vacated to file claims against the city to recoup any losses they incur.
For the Briarwood homeowners, that translates into an April 21 deadline, said Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.
To that end, the homeowners must submit photos of the damage as well as documentation like receipts or structural reports in support of their claims, Andrews said. Then, once the April 21 deadline passes, the comptroller’s office begins its investigation, culling reports from the agencies involved in the case and ultimately reaching a decision about where the responsibility lies.
“We try to do this as quickly as we can,” Neustadt said. “We have to work with various city agencies and we have to get reports on what they found, but we try to process things as quickly as we can.”
The houses in Briarwood were built between 60 and 70 years ago on landfill, a fact that taken alone does not necessarily place the blame squarely on the city. If it is indeed found that the city is at fault, then the comptroller’s office would try to negotiate a settlement with the homeowners, Neustadt said. If not, and the homeowners must bear all financial losses themselves, then they could challenge the ruling in court.
“On the one hand, you have homeowners and they are perplexed,” he said. “On the other hand, it’s taxpayers money, and we can’t just hand out taxpayers money because somebody had something bad happen to them.”
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
