UPPER WEST SIDE — The owners of a Manhattan apartment are suing the bagel shop below them for half a million dollars, claiming the eatery is overheating tenants out of house and home.
A faulty ventilation system at Bagel Talk at 200 West 78th St. has been pumping toasty, 90- to 105-degree air into the upstairs apartment owned by Philip and Yarina Birnbaum, making the pad unlivable, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The Birnbaums, who are taking Bagel Talk and the landlord East-West Renovating Co. to court, said their tenants fled the apartment in 2014 because of the withering heat.
“The heat in Residential Unit 2A was excessive, going as high as 105 degrees, with many days being in the 90s even when the outdoor temperatures were below freezing and/or during the New York winter weather,” the complaint states.
Building records show that Bagel Talk’s exhaust system has caused residents concern for years.
Three residents filed complaints with the Department of Buildings about the exhaust system dating back to 2011. One of them said that the exhaust system is falling off the side of the building into the alleyway and “could kill a child.”
A building inspector flagged the exhaust system as a hazard in July of 2013 saying it was “vibrating and in danger of falling on side of building” and could lead to “imminent danger,” according to Department of Building records.
That complaint was later resolved by the Department of Buildings, but the Birnbaums say the temperature in their apartment is just as hot as ever, according to the complaint.
In May, the couple's lawyer sent a letter to East-West Renovating Co. complaining of the "excessive, unabated and sustained heat" in their apartment, but no action was taken, the lawsuit claims.
The Birnbaums and the owners of Bagel Talk were not available for immediate comment. A representative for East West Renovating Co. could not be immediately reached.
