HAP under fire in Harlem for shoddy construction practices

Numerous issues reported at sites run by the developer

From left: Eran Polack, 2338 Second Avenue and 329 Pleasant Avenue, both in Harlem (credit: HAP Investments)
From left: Eran Polack, 2338 Second Avenue and 329 Pleasant Avenue, both in Harlem (credit: HAP Investments)

A state assemblyman is urging the Department of Buildings to keep a close watch on HAP Investments after neighbors complained that construction work at two of three HAP developments in East Harlem has damaged their properties.

East Harlem Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez said numerous stop work orders have done little to prevent shoddy practices at the development site of 2338 Second Avenue, where a nine-story building is under construction, and at the site of 329 Pleasant Avenue, home to an eight-story, 200-unit building, DNAinfo reported.

Basements and backyards from neighboring properties were damaged on several occasions, and tenants are fleeing, neighbors and property owners said. A spokesperson for HAP said the firm is meeting with neighbors to discuss what’s to be done about the problems.

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The Eran Polack-led firm broke ground last month on a 10-story project at 2211 Third Avenue and neighbors fear it too will cause damage.

HAP spent $100 million on six properties in East Harlem, which is undergoing a renaissance of new development. [DNAinfo]Ariel Stulberg