Condo Owners In Swanky, Multi-Million Dollar Park Avenue Apartment Building Say Developer-Installed, Faulty Insulation Has Led To Mold Invasion

In New York City, the New York Daily News (via The Real Deal - NYC) reports:

• There’s no better way to ruin a Park Ave. palace than with hoards of pesky mold.
  
  Wealthy residents of an uber luxe condo building along Park Ave.’s gold coast have filed suit against its developer, claiming the company installed improper insulation resulting in the growth of mold throughout the property.
  
  The well-heeled owners at 823 Park Ave. say that developer Elliot Joseph’s Property Markets Group, a major New York City real estate player who converted the building from rentals in 2005, has long been aware of the mold and has done nothing to fix it, despite their pleas.
  
  Joseph even went so far as to falsely tell owners that he was making plans to rectify the issue in an effort to stave off a lawsuit, they claim. In face, “he had no intention of doing so,” they said in the complaint, filed Monday in State Supreme Court.
  
  The owners want a minimum of $2.5 million in damages.
  
  The building's sponsor denied the claims, telling the Daily News that the mold was caused by lack of maintenance.
  
  “The facts will show that the building was completed long ago in 2007, and that any current problems were caused by a lack of maintenance," the company said in a statement. " The sponsor built 823 Park using the highest quality materials which were installed by the highest quality contractors who were supervised by the highest quality professionals, and the recent problems alleged have not occurred as the result of defective construction.”
  
  The swanky building, which initially drew waves of high-profile finance types and even former New York Rangers star Brendan Shanahan, commanded top dollar during the last real estate boom, with the penthouse selling for a whopping $30.5 million in 2008.
  
  More recently, industry insiders wondered why owners looking to resell their properties struggled to make decent returns on their investments, despite the building’s great location.
  
  Perhaps the mold has been the culprit, all along.

Source: PMG accused of mold problems at tony UES condo building (In lawsuit, owners of units at 823 Park claim developer neglected their complaints).