If you've been suffering through some of this month's hotter nights thanks to the cruel on-off again roar of that cheap air-conditioner your apartment's previous tenants installed, perched precariously and illegally on your windowsill, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. But do you know what's even worse than dealing with an A/C that blows hot air and is a beacon for all the rabid, chirping pigeons in Brooklyn? An industrial-strength air-conditioner that blocks your view and makes your $3 million apartment feel like a $2 million apartment.
This very predicament has plagued one Upper East Side couple, whose view has come under siege thanks to a new Duane Reade's A/C unit, and naturally they're seeking justice through a lawsuit.
The Post reports that Yaira Singer and Matthew Binstock, who own a duplex on 86th Street and First Ave on the Upper East Side, have filed a $5 million claim against a neighboring Duane Reade. According to the lawsuit, Singer, an architect, and Binstock, a financial advisor, are up in arms now that the Duane Reade has announced plans for an 8-foot air-conditioning unit atop the roof of their store. This unit, they argue, will cause their apartment to "be compromised as to safety and security, obstruction of views, vibration, subjected to excessive noise, possible air pollution and other toxic emissions, all of which constitute a nuisance." The suit is directed at the board of the Duane Reade's building as well as at the store itself, and they're also suing to prevent the A/C unit from being constructed in the first place.
Singer, who is pregnant, is reportedly concerned construction on the unit will cause health concerns. "It’s going to be like a dumping ground for mechanical equipment," she told the Post. But the Post notes that the couple's real concern seems to be the devaluing of the $3 million apartment itself; hence, it seems, the multimillion suit. And Singer and Binstock aren't the only apartment owners plagued by the perils of consumer-driven pollution; a gentleman has been having trouble selling his $5.9 million Tribeca penthouse thanks to a noisy McDonalds truck oft-parked outside. It's a hard-knock world out there.
