Family claims condo gave them diseases
Suit cites Legionnaire’s
A fancy-looking Brooklyn condo had some spiffy amenities — but the toxic Legionella bacteria was a dealbreaker.
Patrick and Margot Cooney, of Alabama, said they had to relocate back to the South to escape the nightmare of a place that caused their infant son to contract Legionnaires’ disease and his 3-year-old brother to catch pneumonia.
Now the Cooneys are suing the owners and operators of McCarren Park Mews Condominiums, a 10-yearold building on N. 11th St. in Williamsburg. They want at least $850,000 for their 11-month ordeal, according to their negligence and breach of contract case filed Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The family leased a unit at the building in November 2015. Just two months later, they were having problems with the unit’s heating. A contractor said the water wasn’t circulating and poured “dark water” from the heating and cooling unit into the Cooneys shower drain. By March 2016, the suit said, everyone in the family was dealing with everything from coughs and bloody noses to gastrointestinal problems.
Half a year later, in September, a property manager ordered everyone to turn off their air conditioners because “once again our cooling tower has tested positive for Legionella.”
The precautions did no good, because soon the infant was vomiting and fighting fever and chills. He was diagnosed with Legionella, and within weeks his mother was, too. The pneumonia occurred around the same time.
The Cooneys hired a mold specialist who found their place was rife with the stuff.
The family had to get out of the condo in October 2016, and they had to scrap all their furniture and fabrics that were possibly exposed to the bacteria.
They moved back to Alabama “due to the financial burden this health crisis caused,” the suit said.
Patrick Cooney — who’s been ill ever since setting foot in the unit — also lost his job. He said he had to resign between all the “extreme financial, mental, and physical hardships” and the time it took to move the family.
The family’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
A Georgia man listed as the condo’s owner and operator at the time in question didn’t respond to a request for comment.