The controversial city sheriff accused of bypassing due process to lock up suspect pot shops has filed an “ironic” lawsuit claiming home contractors he hired are guilty of the same indifference toward procedure.
New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda’s $350,000 lawsuit says his contractor and at least some sub-contractors failed to apply for the permits needed for a rehab of his Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, housing property — which he alleges is now rendered “inhospitable” because of their sloppy work.
Miranda has been the face of a controversial push to padlock alleged illicit pot shops, a move called “unconstitutional” by some state courts.
His lawsuit claims his hired home workers committed an illegal blunder themselves — by failing to follow city building procedure and skimping on filing for proper permits for a basement excavation job at the three-family house he owns with his wife on Willoughby Avenue.
“It’s extremely ironic for him to bring this type of suit,” said lawyer Nadia Kahnauth, who has represented at least 10 pot shops padlocked by Miranda despite administrative court recommendations for them to reopen — only to have the decisions overruled by the Miranda’s office, which has ordered the stores to remain padlocked for at least one year.
Miranda’s lawyer did not respond to a Post request for comment, nor did his main contractor being suided, The Professionals-General Services, Inc.
“He’s accusing them of not following due process, when meanwhile, his office doesn’t follow any due process day in and day out,” Kahnauth alleged of Miranda to The Post.
“[It is] definitely hypocritical to impose this type of blatant violation of due process on other parties all through the city and then bring a lawsuit for $350,000 when it happens to you,” Kahnauth said. “But par for the course.”
Miranda’s lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Kings County Supreme Court, claims that city buildings inspectors issued a stop-work order at his property in 2021, near where the city sheriff grew up, because his contractors failed to “obtain required permits” for the 2-foot deep excavation project.
The $1,250 violation — made out to Miranda — states that the work appeared to be roughly three-quarters completed and ordered proper permits to be obtained and to “make site safe.”
The sheriff’s suit also claims that the engineer hired by the project’s primary contractor “failed to properly account for the structural load of the Subject Premises and omitted critical safety measures,” which resulted in the building becoming “structurally unstable and uninhabitable, causing significant damage.”
Despite the partial stop-work order, the contractors still failed to address “the unsafe conditions,” which lead to “further structural degradation,” the suit says,
Roughly two years later, in September 2023, the foundation of the building “suffered catastrophic damage, resulting in a loss of structural integrity caused by the Defendants’ collective negligence and failure to perform contracted duties,” the lawsuit states.
In August, the city issued Miranda another $1,250 violation for failing to comply with the first one.
The city’s Buildings Department told The Post that it has no records to substantiate the sheriff’s claims of structural instability. A rep added that both owners and contractors have legal responsibilities when it comes to obtaining permits.
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