Full remodel of apartment my mother was planning on putting on the market months ago. Their constant and inexcusable delays and utter failure to complete the work adequately (or at all) on several levels has made this impossible for the time being. They performed the majority of the job while we were out of the country. After a few months getting approval through the co-op board, they began on February 9th, 2015, telling me they would finish within three weeks to a month. Amit Singh, one of the co-owners (who falsely claimed he was overseeing the work but seems to have rarely even been at the apartment), emailed me demanding that he be paid according to this fake schedule which I mistakenly did. I paid for the entire remodel in full about 3 weeks into the project because I wanted to make sure it was taken care of before I left the country. We were still living in the apartment for the first week or two and noticed that the workmen were not friendly and barely even made eye contact. Amit came to the apartment only twice, very briefly, but we were wondering why the work was so slow and behind schedule. There was no foreman even watching the men. I soon found out that Amit has unreasonable excuses for everything. After we moved out, we returned in the evening a few times because we did not want to disturb the renovation but still wanted to see what was happening. We kept seeing a computer/DVD player charger with changing rainbow LED lights and a smiley face plugged in various rooms. Why would a workman need anything but a phone? Also, we disconnected the internet connection in January because we were planning to move, so there is a limited amount he could have been doing aside from playing a DVD. One evening after we had vacated the property, I returned to clean out leftover toiletries from the bathroom cupboard when I saw a DVD upside down towards the back of the bottom shelf. It was a Spanish language bisexual "men in uniform" p*** DVD. I was so shocked and disgusted. I did not initially even mention this incident to Amit because I did not want to embarrass him. Talk about a violation - bringing that to a job site is not only offensive but is obviously crossing the line. A few weeks later, after Amit had cashed the final check he had demanded under false pretenses that the work was on schedule (the very day I left it too - this never should have been cashed until the work was done - his "excuse" was that he was afraid he might lose it...sure...), he began acting unfriendly out of the blue and being stubborn, so I mentioned the DVD. I thought he would be grateful to know to at least some degree. No response. I also found out after our return from being abroad that only one or two men were working almost immediately after we had moved out of the apartment, so it all made sense. They had the place to themselves and were doing anything but real work, if you know what I mean. They must have sent all their decent workers to other jobs and phoned in this renovation, which is extremely offensive, especially considering that we paid them early. We were always gracious to them and to their workers. Clearly, this was not a mutual feeling as they and their workers have no respect at all. The apartment was a dirty disaster when I came back and both of the owners, Amit and Jimmy Lopari, have flatly refused to even look at the damage and incomplete work. Amit also ignored the building manager's request that he and/or the superintendent be notified of the first electrical inspection. Just abrasive responses (and utterly disregarding about 95% of the issues), to my photographic proof of their negligence - they have offered NOTHING. He even insanely claimed that the apartment was pristine when he checked it (an impossibility) and that anything that happened when they were not there is not their fault! He was last there on May 15th, we returned from being out of the country just 4 days later, and immediately contacted him. This company refuses to take any responsibility for the long list of problems and shoddy work. The work they were paid to do was to strip wall paper and remove floor to ceiling mirrors, replaster some walls and fix any imperfections, repaint the walls and ceiling, remove the soffit in the living room, resurface the wood floors, remove carpeting in the closets, redo the tile floors in the kitchen, install tiles on the kitchen floor and in the half bath, address some plumbing issues, install new cabinetry and appliances in the kitchen, install new toilets, replace the shower door in the full bathroom, redo grout and caulking in the full bathroom, revarnish the vanity in the full bathroom, do some electrical work with the sockets and install new halogen bulbs. This did not happen, and what actually did get finished was very poorly executed. It is repellent, and the fact that the contractor finds it acceptable says everything one needs to know about him and his partner: STAY FAR AWAY.
. read more