• Stalled Construction Site Collapses On Neighbor's Home During Weekend Storm


    by on Mar 16th, 2010

    177 MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach Get Demolished

    On Monday, March 15, Jacqulyn Bodenmiller should have been relaxing in advance of her marriage to Bittman Rivas in two weeks. Instead, she stood in the rain outside of her family’s home on MacKenzie Street. The family of five, and Rivas, watched helplessly as their home of 27 years was fenced up and prepped for demolition.

    Almost all of their possessions were still locked inside the house, destined to be crushed by a huge mechanical claw.

    On top of their home sprawled a three-story wooden frame, once a neighboring stalled construction site at 177 MacKenzie Street. During Saturday’s storm, the building slammed into the Bodenmiller’s home with a thunderous boom and shoved their house off its own foundation. Over the course of the next two days, the FDNY and the DOB inspected the home, declared it in “emergency condition” and an immediate threat. The family’s home could collapse under the weight at any time, according to city officials, and so they began demolishing both 177 MacKenzie Street and the Bodenmiller’s home at 181 MacKenzie Street.

    The Bodenmillers are tenants without renters insurance. The American Red Cross put them up in a Sunset Park hotel for the time being, and they’re moving fast to secure an apartment in the area. But all their clothes and other possessions are trapped inside the house, except a few choice items Jacqulyn’s mother, Irine, was able to grab in a brief opportunity.

    “It was the saddest part,” said Rivas. “Her mother had the opportunity and she grabbed the veil, wedding rings, and other wedding jewelry. She didn’t grab a thing of her own, just things for the wedding.”

    UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): The Bodenmillers have been given a chance to recoup some items.

    Rivas and the Bodenmillers have little doubt who’s responsible. They blame the shoddy construction by the delinquent developer, as well as the Department of Buildings for failing to oversee the work.

    The family has had its share of battles with 177 MacKenzie Street. Since construction began in December 2008, the family and other neighbors objected to what they saw as  an abuse of a loophole for “community facilities” to have extra bulk and height. The contractor filed for a ten person prayer room, allowing them to build taller and further out on the property line, but the primary use of the building would remain a residence.

    As construction moved forward, complaints caught the attention of the Department of Buildings. Ultimately the agency placed three consecutive stop work orders as the architect failed to make 8-foot means of egress along its sides, and the builders also built an illegal roof extension. According to the neighbors, despite DOB orders the contractors carried on with work before totally abandoning the project in October 2009.

    Since then the shoddy wooden work has been poorly protected from the elements, weakening its structure.

    An architect not related to the project watched as the building was torn down, and remarked that it appeared there were no substantial structural supports on the first or second floors.

    The family said the tragedy could have been avoided if the DOB put more pressure on the developer to maintain or demolish the structure.

    “It’s like the Department of Buildings dropped the ball,” said Rivas.

    “If the housing department came and checked on it, and seen the conditions, this never would’ve happened,” added future brother-in-law Christopher Bodenmiller.

    The registered owner of the house – Alla Shikham Ripa – could not be reached for comment, nor could the person a source told Sheepshead Bites is the “real” person behind the project, Daniel Estrin.

    However, someone that appeared to be related to the project, who only gave his name as Steven, came to take photographs of the demolition. He blamed the Bodenmillers for the problem, saying that their objections caused the building to get delayed and ultimately cancelled, and that the devastation never would’ve happened if they had minded their business.

    “It’s karma. Karma comes back on you,” Steven said.

    The Bodenmillers also said that when the house originally fell and they ran out of their homes, Steven was there and remarked, “Now you’ll sell it to us?”

    The family isn’t focusing on the developer, though. As of Monday afternoon, they continued to stand in the rain, hoping desperately for permission to recoup some of their possessions.

    “I have my savings. Rent is a little more [in the new apartment] than we pay now,” Christopher said. “If we can get inside and get a little of our stuff back, that’ll help. Anything will help.”

    “I sit on on the pastoral council [at St. Marks/St. Margaret Mary] so I know some of the things that are available to us,” Christopher added. “I just never thought I’d be the one using them.”

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    • Lassas

      This is really awful! My heart goes out to the Bodenmillers. Anybody else reading this have any ideas about how, as a community, we might be able to help this family?

    • Ray Johnson

      This is so sad. Too bad the Bodenmillers couldn't get most of their possessions back, safely.

    • PayPaul

      Karma will get you Steven. Karma has a way of bouncing back on you. I'm certain at the very least a lawsuit is in your future. If the plans for this structure were more amenable to the Bodenmillers the delays and cancellation of the project might not have happened. Steven and the other progenitors of this monstrous act of real estate terrorism will get what's coming to them.

    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

      Jail would be nice. Karmic retribution.

    • Alex

      Bodenmillers have a solid lawsuit on their hands. If they play their cards right, they will get a good settlement.

    • Pingback: GOOD NEWS! Bodenmillers Get Chance To Recoup Items | Sheepshead Bay News Blog

    • http://www.nedberke.com Ned Berke

      Two things:

      1) The story has been updated with some good news: http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2010/03/good-new…

      2) I want to say thank you on behalf of the Bodenmillers to all those who reached out to me to see how they can help. Thankfully, the family won't be needing it.

    • http://kibblesbits.wordpress.com/ Ann

      And this was going to be a house of worship? How shameful, how appalling. That makes it all the more vile — a house of worship that cares nothing about the community, the people in it, that it is moving to. How could they consider worshipping at such a place? People of faith are SUPPOSED to have moral principles, and maybe that is old fashioned of me. But these people? None. To say the things they said, to do what they do? What God do they worship?

    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

      The “prayer room” appeared to be just a pretense to get a zoning variance. It's unfortunate that there are people that manipulate laws meant to encourage diversity of belief in order to gain an advantage that will be used for purposes unrelated to religious purposes. Such individuals should be fined for their deception.

    • AnneKenniff

      They still need help. They've lost everything.

      -A friend of the Bodenmiller's

    • AnneKenniff

      A picture speaks 1,000 words, Steven. It is OBVIOUSLY not the Bodenmiller's fault. It was crappy construction and negligence of the owner of 177 MacKenzie Street. The Bodenmiller's have lost EVERYTHING they own. They were only able to get back a few items, mainly items for their daughters' wedding which is next week.
      This is a tragedy that could have easily been avoided if the Department of Buildings had listened to the complaints that were filed. I am sickened by this tragedy, not only because I know the Bodenmiller's personally but also because I know that this could have been avoided. Any help is welcomed and appreciated.

    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

      I would like to see criminal charges made against those responsible for this. Someone could have been killed.

    • Research Man

      The Reporter is a fool who does not use research this is not a house of worship it is a regular house check DOB records DOB issued permits then changed their mind because of frivolous complaints issued by neighbors who did not like construction they do this for all houses in the area DOB screwed the owners of Mackenzie who are a regular orthodox family that suffered severe losses, the building falling had nothing to do with them…but all of you are quick to shift the blame without doing any research, there was no house of worship it was withdrawn a year ago just look at the DOB website I feel for the next door neighbors and they probably will recover against the contractor but my hear goes out to the family who owns 177 Mackenzie they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars the DOB demolished the house even the foundation they will have to start from scratch and who knows if they will get anything…they are the people who need community support just think of them and look at the situation from their point of view their dream house built out of steel not wood as the reporter erroneously said is now a pile of trash and their hard earned money are in flames…think before you comment.

    • http://kibblesbits.wordpress.com/ Ann

      Are you serious? I would expect that part of building something like that, insurance would be a requirement. They lost a partial structure. A family lost their home. They are homeless. They lost things pertaining to an upcoming wedding. Their clothing, their housewares, their sentimental goods, their furniture, their electronics, medications, food, EVERYTHING. How you could selfishly turn this around, I don't know. The DOB was called because of violations. They don't just change their mind for frivolous things. There has to be a substantial reason — in fact, history will show you that in the area, they ignore most violations. In fact, they ignored this if the building FELL DOWN. What kind of structure does something like that? If they were so concerned about all that money they had to spend on the building with a public room in it for worship, then they should have been insured and dealt with an ethical contractor and ethical businesses that were insured. I cannot believe that some people would comment in the manner you did, sir. It is beyond the pale and shows the lack of compassion for those who were truly harmed in deeper ways than someone who was mired in some rather shady dealings.

    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

      If you own a property and decide to build on it you are responsible when construction is stalled to ensure the stability of what you have already constructed.

      The article did not say that this building was to be used as a religious building, merely that the owners had put a prayer room in the plans to bypass size restrictions on the property.

      I have no sympathy for people who show no respect for the concerns of their neighbors regarding an outrageous execution of building. Manhattan Beach was planned as a community of houses that would complement one another. I can't understand why people have to move into a neighborhood when they can't respect that community's history and its protocols.

      Unlike other neighborhoods Manhattan Beach is an area where people do something when someone tries to change the character of the place that they live. Sadly, they are not always successful.

    • http://www.njluxurymotors.com Arthur Borko

      The Bodenmillers are no longer homeless, if i'm not mistaken they've already moved into an apartment. The loss of all their property and memories though is horrible, and the responsible party should have to pay them back the fair market value of the objects inside, AND punitive damage.

      As for Research Boy, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the owner of the property that fell down or even the contractor.

    • http://www.njluxurymotors.com Arthur Borko

      Has a collection been taken up for them? If you give us the info we can put up a new post telling people where to bring stuff.

    • BeachLover

      What part of “the house fell down” don't you understand “research” man? Do a little research yourself into the history of neighborhoods in Brooklyn that have been overbuilt with all kinds of variances and shoddy construction by certain people who have no respect for the laws and the intentions of those laws–mainly that people shouldn't build things that don't fit into the surrounding community, no matter how many children they have or kitchens they need. If they don't like the zoning laws here in Brooklyn, they can go someplace else. The family at 177 Mackenzie deserves no sympathy fro hiring a shoddy construction outfit that was in violation of building codes, and cited numerous times. This family was able to afford to build a house, therefore they can afford to sue the construction company for their losses, and if they have any sense, they will sell the property and move someplace else where they can build whatever monstrosity they want to.

    • brooklynq

      Arthur, I could be wrong, but my understanding is that the Bordenmiller's don''t want anything else done for them. If they do, I'm there, but I'm not going to force myself into a situation where I/we are not wanted.

    • http://www.njluxurymotors.com Arthur Borko

      I posted that comment on the 19th. The same day one of their friends posted that they still need help…obviously nobody should involve themselves where they arent wanted.

    • AnneKenniff

      As far as I know, they have everything they need. Thank you, Arthur.

    • VinnieRandall

      Her designs are truly amazing and what makes them even more special is that they are so practical and ready to wear. They are not those sophisticated designs that you only see on the catwalk, they are designed to make every woman beautiful every day. That along with some products and some accessories can make every woman feel special and attractive.

    • GordonMervin

      This is how life is, when you thought nothing wrong could ever happen to you at a certain happy moment in your life, the Universe asks for its right and takes something else away from you, in this case, the house, without even leaving an address of a construction equipment rental company to make it back. Those poor people didn't need this, I feel sorry for their loss. No one could expect something like that to happen.

    • Anonymous

      This is awful.