More Belvedere residents complain about conditions

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October 24, 2005

More Belvedere residents complain about conditions

By DANIEL OSTROVSKY

Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer

Baltimore, MD

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/pub/5_400_law/legalnews/172938-1.html

In the wake of a lawsuit alleging sewage leaks at The Belvedere, a

101-year-old hotel converted to luxury condominiums in 1991, several

other unit owners have come forward to complain of flooding and mold

problems inside their units.

Water damage was evident on the ceiling of unit 1013 in the

Belvedere last week.

Photo by Max Franz

As reported last week, party-planning company Paik Trust Holdings

LLC filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the Belvedere Condominium

Council of Unit Owners over alleged sewage leaks in 2002 and 2003.

" The ceiling has pieces of dry wall and one of the places where two

dry walls meet, that opened up and that's where the water was coming

down, " said Chkhenkeli, who owns a unit on the ninth

floor. " I am lucky that my mother who usually stays there is away,

but currently I am looking for other properties to put her up in. "

B. , the owner of a unit right above Chkhenkeli's, said

doctors have advised her not to stay inside her penthouse apartment

for more than 10 minutes at a time, due to the presence of mold.

" There are people that are a lot worse off than I am that are living

in units that are worse than what you've seen in New Orleans and

they can't afford to move and they can't afford to complain, " she

said.

N. Yaffe, the president of Truffles, a catering company

located in The Belvedere, said even his space has been scarred by

water.

" I invite you to come by and inspect the damage we have in our

beautiful ballrooms, " he said.

Ken Pippin, president of the council of unit owners, said extensive

renovations are underway. However, he denied that the council, which

maintains the building, is responsible for making the unit owners

whole in these cases, saying he is aware only of problems caused by

one unit owner's dishwasher.

" I haven't seen the damage that you are talking about, but I did

look at a soaking, sopping, wet floor directly above one of the

units that you are talking about, " acknowledged Pippin.

' apartment is the subject of a violation notice by the

Baltimore City Health Department on Aug. 3. Inspector Clayton Tolson

noted mold problems inside her 10th floor unit.

The superintendent of the building at that time, C. ,

stated " all agree that problem is fault of the building and a report

and bids for repair work is underway, " Tolson wrote.

served as the superintendent at The Belvedere for just 17 days

in late July and August before resigning his post.

There is no superintendent at present, but the council is about to

hire one, Pippin said.

During the 1911 Democratic National Convention, Woodrow , the

presidential nominee chosen by the delegates, stayed at The

Belvedere. The building's Web site names five other presidents who

graced the Belvedere with their presence.

Yet, current residents claim they are not getting the presidential

treatment the building's Web site still promises.

The Belvedere's problems are not contained to water leaks. When The

Daily Record visited the building last week, the glass in one of the

revolving doors at the entrance was cracked. Wires hung down from a

ladies room ceiling located in the lobby, and a 10th floor fire

escape was locked.

According to Louis J. Kozlakowski, ' attorney with ,

Constable & Skeen, most Belvedere unit owners have not filed suit

because the condominium bylaws require the parties to arbitrate all

disputes.

" Arbitration is as expensive, if not more, than litigation, " he

explained, suggesting arbitrators charge between $1,500 and $2,000 a

day.