Claim for Damages Against the City of Chelsea
Jun 21, 2022
submission
#71
Claim for Damages
Claim For Damages Against the City of Chelsea
| Claimants Name | Marie E. Iacono |
| Claimants Address | 36 Beacon St, Chelsea MA 02150-2634 |
| Claimants E-mail Address | [email protected] |
| Claimants Phone Number | +16178893949 |
| Please Describe the Incident Thoroughly | On 5/25/2022, the WSD at approx. 6:45 p.m. started to place barrels on my street for street work. I spoke with the WSD man and asked what was going on. He told me that the owner of 34 Beacon St. had a leak inside her basement and that a contractor was coming tomorrow morning. I asked what time he was coming because the signs were not attached to the barrel and he said 7 A.M. I told him that this did not give the residents much notice of what was to occur the next morning. When I looked out my front window, I expected to see the excavation in front of 34 Beacon but instead found that the contractor was dumping and using the sidewalk in front of my house, 36 Beacon. I was livid when I saw what was happening, and I called the WSD and the DPW for some answers as to why this was occuring in front of my house! I then noticed that all the cars had moved except for one. A car was parked in front of 34 Beacon and I wanted to know why this car was not moved or towed because of the fact, it was obstructing the open sidewalk in front of 34 Beacon. I later found out that this car was owned by one of the tenants living at 34 Beacon. I again called the WSD and the DPW. As the digging proceeded, I noticed a very heavy piece of equipment laying beside my gas main turn off and I ask the excavator why this piece of equipment was so close to the turn off and he shouted out not to worry - he knows what he is doing. I went about makingmy bed, etc which is located in the back of the the house and shortly thereafter, I went into my kitchen to wash my breakfast dishes when I heard a strange sound. The sound is similar to hail hitting a glass window, then I heard loud pinging which I later realized was the drain pipe beside my hand rail being hit with dirt and rocks. When I look through my blinds, I saw the excavator flinging dirt and rocks at a high speed all over the front of my house, I was about to open my storm window to shout out to him to stop doing what he was doing but I stopped because if I had opened my window, I could have been hit in the face with flying dirt and rocks to my face! I then headed for my front door and as I was about to open it, flying dirt and rocks hit my entire entrance way into my house and I could not get out. I then decided to call the police and by the time I got to my phone, the noise had stopped. I looked out my window and all I could see was a cloud of dust and I could not see anyone or anything until the dust dissipated. At this point in time, my blood pressure was 176 and rising. I have a heart condition and high blood pressure and I knew that I had to lay down and try to calm down or I was heading for either a heart attack or stroke and this wise guy was not worth it. I was also very lightheaded and found it difficult to walk and had to use the walls to make my way to the bedroom. Some time later, I heard pounding and banging which shook my house and when I looked out my window, I saw him using the claw to drag the dirt and rocks across the sidewalk to dump the dirt into the hole. I had it with him, high blood pressure or not, I opened my front door and shouted to him "Stop doing that to my sidewalk!" and he shouted back to me "It's not your sidewalk, it's the city's sidewalk" and he continued to bang, boom and drag the claw and cause deep scratches all over the place. A few days later, I am still sweeping the compacted dirt on the sidewalk and I discovered that he had destroyed the expansion joint between two pieces of sidewalk leaving a large opening on the sidewalk which is not a good thing to happen and the opening had to be closed ASAP because the rain would fail into the dirt under the sidewalk and may cause damage to my foundation wall. I called Tufts Construction and left a message that I wanted to speak to the owner of Tufts to lodge a complaint against his excavator. I received a call from a Peter Tufts who during a contentious telephone conversation said that he, himself, was the excavator who did the work at 34 Beacon. I told him that he damaged my house which he denied and I told him, step by step, how he was able to fling or hurl dirt and rocks, at a high velocity, by using the excavator (claw)` which I had no idea that this claw could be used in that way. I also told why he did that because I had dared to question the position of a heavy piece of equipment next to my gas main turn off. That he probably would have been happy had i come out of the house in the condition I was in and had a stroke in front of him! This whole situation should never have happened that morning as far as I am concerned. It wasn't until a week later that I learned that a private contractor can do what he wants because he city does not interfere with a private contractor. The city can't make him tow a car or anything else which I find completely unacceptable as a resident homeowner. Now, I have had to call contractors day after day to find someone to come and evaluate the dings, scratches, marring and brick problems caused by him flinging dirt and rocks over the entire front of my house! Appraisals of damages and photos will be furnished as soon as I am in possession of the same. |
| Date of Incident | 2022-05-26 |
| Time of the Incident | 7 A.M. |
| Conditions at Time of Incident | Sunny |
| Describe the Conditions you choose | -Damage to front of house |
| Location of Incident (closest address) | 36 Beacon St, Chelsea MA 02150-2634 |
| Additional detail on location (if needed). | None |