That’s not the kind of exposed brick they expected.
This week, a couple in Brooklyn experienced an unexpected shock when a construction team burst through their apartment, resulting in a large hole in their living room wall.
The nightmarish ordeal unfolded Monday as Jamie, a Bushwick resident, was preparing for an onboarding meeting during his first day at a new job.
He explained to The Post that right before he planned to sit down at his computer, he saw that a section of his exposed brick wall had collapsed, covering his floor with debris.
“I look to the wall and I just see daylight,” Jamie said.
“I could see there was stuff all over the floor. There’s bricks and dust and s–t all over the place,” he added.
Jamie and the Department of Buildings confirmed that the damage was a result of an ongoing demolition project happening in an old parking lot adjacent to his apartment on Himrod Street.
A piece of machinery had rammed into the wall of Jamie’s apartment, he said, though workers apparently claimed the damage was because an old structure next door was “attached” to his apartment’s wall.
“It seemed like the dude excavating just swung too hard,” Jamie said.
The general contractor, listed on city records as N Tech Design of America, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Jamie said after he discovered the wreck he called his girlfriend, who was out doing laundry.
“We were obviously furious and nervous,” he recalled.
The tenant then notified his landlord — who rushed to the apartment with his lawyer after Jamie sent him pictures of the mess.
Jamie claimed his landlord initially wasn’t grasping the severity of the situation and even cracked jokes.
The lawyer, however, was not laughing, Jamie said.
“His [landlords] lawyer was like, ‘I need you to take this seriously, listen to this! If this caves in or if anything else happens, you’re f–ked,” Jamie said.
The FDNY eventually arrived and called the DOB to inspect Jamie’s unit.
DOB workers discovered a 2-foot by 2-foot section of brick masonry that had been dislodged by an “impact from the adjacent demolition site,” the department said in a statement to The Post.
No injuries were reported, but the DOB slapped 301 Himrod St. with a stop-work order and issued violations for failing to safeguard the site and report the incident.
Two days later, the DOB received a report that construction had resumed against the order, but inspectors found no work in progress.
In the meantime, Jamie, his girlfriend, and their cat had to scramble to find a feline-friendly hotel.
“My cat is probably the most traumatized from moving from hotel to hotel,” he said.
Jamie claims the construction company offered to pick up the lodging costs, but he hasn’t seen anything in writing yet.
“Yesterday was my first day at a new job… it was my first onboarding meeting and I had to jump in and be like you’re not going to believe this but this is actually what’s happening to me right now.”
“It’s important to laugh at absurd situations… but I’m worried the impact we’re feeling from this is just the beginning.”
As of Friday, Jamie had relocated back into the apartment as repairs on his wall continued.
Jamie’s landlord didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
