Company behind Pelham Parkway Phase 2 reconstruction suing the city for breach of contract

New paint, ramps and pavement aim to increase safety on the parkway, pictured on Dec. 28, 2023.

Photo Emily Swanson

The construction company hired by the city to complete Phase 2 of the Pelham Parkway reconstruction project has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the city for alleged breach of contract. 

C.A.C. Industries, Inc., based in Long Island City, filed suit in state Supreme Court Friday seeking over $6 million in compensatory damages, arguing that it was not paid the full amount owed for the project that went years beyond its scheduled completion date. 

The Pelham project was indeed a long time coming—Phase 1 began in 2010—and city officials breathed a sigh of relief when they announced the completion of Phase 2 in late December 2023. Phase 2 began in 2017.

C.A.C. Industries, which worked on Phase 2, alleges that the city is to blame for the project’s delay. The work was supposed to be completed in 1,460 consecutive calendar days and took nearly 800 days longer.

The company accuses the city of misrepresenting the project’s timeline, being “grossly negligent” and “malicious” in failing to assess the scope of the work accurately, and not compensating it to cover the adjusted timeline.

A spokesperson for the City would not comment on the lawsuit, telling the Bronx Times in an e-mail that it would “review the case once served.”  Meanwhile, the attorney representing C.A.C. had not responded for comment by press time. 

Phase 2 of the Pelham Parkway reconstruction effort involved improvements both above and below ground — such as better drainage and water pressure, safer pedestrian walkways and dedicated bus lanes. 

The $115 million contract stipulated that the work was to be completed on July 31, 2021, but it was not actually completed until Sept. 29, 2023, according to the complaint. 

In an interview with the Bronx Times last year, when Phase 2 was completed, Tom Foley, commissioner of the city…