Youssef Bahket with pails of water collected beneath a hole in the ceiling at Brownstone Cleaners. (Click to enlarge)
A roof leak at a Red Bank laundry shop early Tuesday ruined customer garments and may have caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment damage, the owners say.
It also unleashed a torrent of accusations between the owners and their landlord.
According to borough fire department officials who investigated the incident Tuesday morning, the leak was one of many caused by a combination of heavy rain and ice-blocked downspouts, some of which have tripped alarms.
But Youssef Bahket of Brownstone Cleaners claims that today’s leak is just the latest in a series of leaks dating back years that the building’s landlord has refused to fix. He said he went to the police station out of desperation, prompting a visit by safety inspectors and the fire department also the latest in a series.
In reply, landlord Linda DeAngelis, who lives above the business, says Bahket is “an arrogant, conniving liar” who “lied” to officials by claiming the roof had collapsed in two places when it is merely leaking, a problem she says she’s racing to fix.
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January 18, 2011 - 12:59 pm
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Four months after the Brownstone Dry Cleaner and Laundromat on Monmouth Street in Red Bank was evicted over tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, the self-serve laundromat portion of the operation is expected to reopen soon under new management, one of the building’s owners tells redbankgreen. Nearly all dry-cleaned clothing left behind by the former tenant has been returned to customers, and the storefont at the corner of Pearl Street remains available for lease, the owner said. (Click to enlarge)
