Owner of demolished building files claim against Schenectady
"I'm the victim here," Gonzalez said, adding that the city took down his building within 24 hours of the slide. "They didn't do their due diligence."
A notice of claim is required before a lawsuit can be filed against a municipality.
Gonzalez said the home was an investment property and that it previously had tenants. There was no one living in the building at the time of the slide, he said.
His legal filing also claims the city didn't tell him the risks the water service leak posed to his property, even though water from the leak damaged the foundation of his building.
Gonzalez said his insurance policy doesn't cover landslides.
"[The city] takes your house away; that's a little unsettling," Gonzalez said.
The landslide occurred during the early morning hours of
After the slide, the city declared a state of emergency and demolished three structures because city officials deemed them unstable.
Those structures were at
City Corporation Counsel
"We're not required to give any notice to the parties involved due to the fact it's an emergency and we have to address the situation immediately," Falotico said.
He said he would need more information about why Gonzalez feels the city didn't do enough of an investigation of his building before demolishing it in order to comment on that aspect of the claim.
"It sounds like a vague accusation you make when you can't point to anything we actually did wrong," Falotico said.
A geotechnical report released by the city on Monday indicated water from a broken service line to
City officials and residents of 223
City officials previously said they became aware of the broken water line at
The city claims it was not liable for the landslide because the water service line is the responsibility of the property owners.
The report also indicated the city discovered a water service line leak at 6
"It was a small leak," LaFond said. "The property owner was notified."
Falotico also previously said the city didn't have any liability because it did nothing to add to the problem that caused the slide. He also doesn't believe the city was negligent in failing to notify residents at the bottom of the hill of the danger because water and sewer maintenance crews didn't have any reason to believe the slope would fail.
The slide sent three people to the hospital, including Iquann Cornish, who was trapped inside his 223
Cornish was airlifted to
Both Cornish and Ross have filed their own notices of claim against the city.
Cornish has also filed a notice of claim against the county because of its involvement in the Schenectady County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was published in 2007.
That report included a map that showed the ridge where
Cornish claimed both the city and county failed to make sure the hill was stable before the landslide. Ross said the city was negligent in not addressing the water service line break in a timely manner.
The owners of 225
None of those who have filed notices of claim have detailed how much they are seeking in damages.
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