'I cannot live like this.' Brooklyn woman claims neighbor's construction destroyed her building

A Brooklyn woman says construction on her neighbor's property caused significant damage to her own building and that she has not received compensation.

News 12 Staff

Feb 28, 2022, 10:57 PM

Updated 794 days ago

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A Brooklyn woman says construction on her neighbor's property caused significant damage to her own building and that she has not received compensation.
Frances Babb, an immigrant from Guyana, bought the building at 1074 Rogers Ave. in 2007. In the past few months, she says development and renovations on her neighbors building left her property with severe damages.
According to documents Babb showed News 12, the company that bought 1076 Rogers Ave. asked for access to her property to do its construction for a fee. In return, the document stated the company, called 1076 Rogers Realty LLC, would promptly repair any damages caused.
Babb found that the company had built a scaffold on the roof, which caused leaking, water damage and eventually a ceiling collapse. She claims the construction also damaged an adjacent part of the building that she used as a kitchen for her catering business, which had to be demolished completely.
“I didn’t know they were building scaffold on the roof until one day I heard a noise like a bomb,” she says.
Babb says she had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to repair the roof to prevent the building from completely deteriorating, but she said there are still so many repairs that need to be made.
“I cannot live like this. They’re doing nothing about it,” she says.
Babb reached out to the company but hasn’t received a response. After getting an attorney, the neighbor's attorney said they filed an insurance claim for the damage and are waiting for an update from the insurance company.
Babb says she still hasn’t heard from anyone nearly seven months later.
News 12 called the property manager, but no one answered any of the calls. News 12 also reached out to the insurance company for the status of that insurance claim and is waiting to hear back.


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