Categorized | Local Perspectives

Landings Lawsuit

This letter was read at the Perth Amboy City Council Meeting on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

We have all suffered dearly from the latest blow nature has unleashed on our city. As all residents, we are most interested in supporting the plan for recovery from Sandy. We urge the City Council to continue to inform and elicit residents to participate fully in recovery efforts.

The Landings saw our sea wall breached and significant flooding occurred in vulnerable parts of the two buildings in the Landings. We are currently working with our insurance and FEMA/SBA to restore our already weakened buildings to their former working order and where possible mitigate the areas that could prevent this disaster from reoccurring.

The sea wall is of special concern. The developer, Kushner Industries was required to build the sea wall which was not sufficient to hold back Sandy’s surge. We do not know what specifications were met, but one thing is certain is that it will need repair and mitigation in the future. I am sure Perth Amboy in general is looking at the needs for sea walls to defend all its low lying areas and we urge you not to forget our portion. We have not heard from the developer either about the sea wall or the nearly destroyed community room and fitness center that is still their responsibility under our Master Condo regulations. We ask your help to reach out to the developer to determine their intentions. If they are seeking FEMA/SBA low interest loans my understanding is they have to file by December 31.

As fate would have it, twenty homeowners from both Bayview and the Admiral, including myself, have filed a complaint in the Middlesex County Court principally against Kushner Industries, just before Sandy struck. We are represented by Patrick Whalen, esq. This is clearly a David vs. Goliath case. We have often offered testimony to the Council about our struggles with Kushner’s representatives. After several months of work, we have concluded we have to challenge the deceitful and misleading actions of the developer and others that led us to invest our savings and in my case my retirement money in the Landings. Personally, what particularly attracted me was the stated idea that Landings would be a key factor in the Renaissance of Perth Amboy. We also expected we would be getting a quality construction to establish a home in what promised to be a beautiful development. Instead greed seems to have gotten in the way and Kushner seems to believe that he can treat both the residents and the city with disdain and will challenge the idea that we are helpless in the face of his billions.

We know Patrick Whalen is interested din addressing PARA if the December 4 meeting will occur. He has urged us to share the Complaint so we will send it by e-mail to as many of you who share our goals.

Daniel Santo Pietro

Landings Owner

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