


The condo board at a troubled 1,400-foot luxury tower on New York City’s Billionaires’ Row is accusing developers of “deliberate and far-reaching fraud” by failing to disclose early cracks in the facade that it says could lead to dangerous structural issues.
Condo board members say that CIM Group and other developers of 432 Park Avenue failed to alert potential buyers and city inspectors about the severity of cracks in the signature white concrete facade that also “acts as a critical component of the building’s structural support,” according to a new lawsuit. The building opened in 2015.
The suit, filed late last month in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, also names as defendants an engineering firm and an architectural firm tied to the building’s construction. The board seeks damages exceeding $165 million, including “the diminution in value of the building and its units.”
The lawsuit details nearly 1,900 defects that have emerged in the facade of the building, one of several slender apartment buildings known as “supertalls” that dot the Manhattan skyline. Photos in the filing show vein-like cracks and chunks of concrete missing from the facade.
The suit accuses the defendants of knowing about the cracks early on but, worried about their bottom line, failing to adequately address them and instead covering up their effects.
“This matter extends beyond negligence into an alleged calculated scheme, driven by greed, that eroded trust,” Terrence Oved, a lawyer for the condo board, said in a statement.