(WSVN) – Buildings are going up all over South Florida. One downside: Concrete sometimes comes down, in some cases ending up on cars. But what can you do if it sprays down on your car? It’s why one woman called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
You may have heard the saying “that was then.”
Jasmine Blackmon: “Extremely quiet. You could sleep all day.”
The rest of the saying? “This is now.”
Jasmine Blackmon: “Three, 4 in the morning.”
Patrick Fraser: “They’re out there working?”
Jasmine Blackmon: “Three, 4 in the morning.”
The four-story construction site stretches from Pierce Street to Filmore in Hollywood.
Jasmine doesn’t like the early morning noise, isn’t fond of the cement dust flying around, and really can’t stand the concrete floating down.
Jasmine Blackmon: “And I noticed that I seen cement on top of my roof. I see cement on other cars in the apartment, but they don’t say nothing. I’m the only one saying something about it.”
When we were there, there were no screens on the side of the four-story building to catch the concrete overspray, and Jasmine says she got no warning they were pouring concrete.
Jasmine Blackmon: “Nobody notified us. Did y’all send us an email saying y’all would be doing this?”
When the concrete flies down on the cars, workers come out to wash them.
Twice, Jasmine says, they missed the concrete on her car.
Jasmine Blackmon: “Well, maybe it will come off. Little wash or two, it’ll come off. It didn’t come off.”
When Jasmine complained, the contractor agreed to detail and wax her car. She said that didn’t work either.
Jasmine Blackmon: “You see the cement on the roof right there, and then also you see it’s eating in my paint.”
Jasmine believes the scratches on her roof came when they tried to remove the dried concrete. She says it also left 11 stains on her hood.
No big deal, you might say. Big deal, says Jasmine.
Jasmine Blackmon: “My car is nice, It’s a nice 2021 Mustang. No scratches, no dents, nothing.”
Jasmine got a $1,219 estimate to paint the hood and roof. She asked the contractor to pay for it. They didn’t respond.
Jasmine Blackmon: “If this was their vehicle, they wouldn’t like it either. To see cement on it is very frustrating.”
Well Howard, if Mother Nature blows the concrete off the building, is the contractor responsible?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes. When someone is painting or spraying concrete, they are required to protect other people’s property. That includes notifying them to move their vehicles and some sort of netting to block the spray from hitting other properties. The contractor has to repair the car.”
I emailed and called the contractor several times. No response.
I then contacted the City of Hollywood. They told me the contractor did have permission for the early starts.
The city then went to the construction site, where the supervisor told them they put a notice on the cars to warn residents when they were pouring concrete.
Jasmine says she never got one.
The contractor then emailed me, explaining they were out of the country and didn’t know I was trying to reach them.
They wrote, “Corradi Construction Group prides itself on being engaged in the communities where we have projects.”
In Jasmine’s case, they said, they had “nothing to do” with the scratches on her roof. But in an effort to resolve the matter and put it behind us, they agreed to pay the $1,219 bill to paint the hood and roof.
Jasmine Blackmon: “I was pretty shocked. I’m like, ‘OK, thank you.’”
Jasmine got her check, and the contractor also put up a screen to catch any more overspray. All after Jasmine’s call to Help Me Howard.
Jasmine Blackmon: “I am absolutely glad I called you guys. Like, I didn’t want to go to court, I didn’t want to go that extra mile, so you took the foot work off me. I’m so grateful.”
You are welcome, Jasmine. And the law that regulates businesses also applies to individuals. So if you want to spray something on your property, whether it’s paint or pesticides, if it hits your neighbors, you are responsible if there is any damage, so avoid windy days.
A problem got you painted into a corner? Need to construct a way out? Cement it by calling us, to hopefully give you a concrete solution.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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