A lawsuit filed last month in New York State Supreme Court against Tahl-Propp Equities alleges construction defects at the Normandie at 100 West 119th Street, which was erected in 1910 and converted from a rental to a residential condominium building in 2005.

The lawsuit, according to an article by David Jones yesterday at therealdeal.com, maintains that "about half of the building's apartments have mold in them, and other parts of the building have significant cracks, corrosion and other problems."

Tahl-Propp, led by principals Joseph Tahl and Rodney Propp, first acquired the 7-story building in 2003 and converted it into a condo.

According to the lawsuit, Tahl, Propp and Neda Barzideh, an in-house attorney for the developer, served on the condo board and dominated much of the management of the property since buyers first moved into the building in late 2005.

Other allegations, according to the article, "are that the building has exposed heating and water pipes, cracking hardwood floors, exposed structural beams in the common areas and corroded outdoor refrigerant piping."

"Despite actual knowledge of the construction defects, sponsor failed to effect the necessary repairs, compelling plaintiff to retain the service of professional engineers to evaluate the construction defects," attorneys for the board wrote, the article said.

A lawyer for the developer, who responded on behalf of Tahl-Propp, told The Real Deal they were trying to work out an agreement that would resolve the case. Barzideh was not immediately available for comment.

"Presumably they see this as a tool to increase their leverage in negotiations," said Ken Jacobs, attorney for the developer. "We're happy to work with them in good faith."

Rodney Propp joined forces with Joseph Tahl, a counsel to Donald Trump, in 1997 to form Tahl Propp Equities and, according to a June 2, 2005 article by Pranay Gupte in The New York Sun "raised $15 million, and bought a portfolio of 16 apartment buildings in Detroit, and a 300,000-square-foot office building in St. Louis."

"We always look at what could go wrong before what could go right," Mr. Propp said. "That guiding principle has served us well," the article continued, adding that the next year Tahl Propp brought a building at Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and 115th Street in Harlem. Mr. Propp was quoted in the article as stating that he was "uncomfortable saying how many properties Tahl Propp owned in Harlem, but he didn't dispute the number 100."

"We never sell our buildings," Mr. Propp told The Sun, adding that "We develop them and let their value grow." One exception, the article continued, "is the Normandie, at Lenox Avenue and 119th Street. It is Tahl Propp's first condominium. The vacant building is being converted into 25 apartments, each with four bedrooms."

"On Feb. 27, 2007," according to an article by Dana Rubenstein at observer.com, "Tahl-Propp Equities, then owner of 520 Fifth, formed a partnership with Mr. [Aby Rosen, owner of two neighboring properties at 516 and 518 Fifth Avenue, with the purpose of developing the site, according to city records and a lawsuit filed on Feb. 24 by 520 Fifth Avenue (Tahl-Propp)."