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Homeless for weeks after wall collapse

Page 3
of 3

D'Amato is a partner at Russo, Scamardella & D'Amato, and managing
partner for lobbying firm The Molinari Group, which is headed by former
Borough President Guy V. Molinari. Both men were NASCAR lobbyists.

One Buildings source said it could be several weeks before D'Amato and
the other families can go home. Ms. Lindquist said that D'Amato's engineer
is working on a stabilization plan, which will be reviewed and expedited
by Buildings.

Molinaro said most displaced families were staying with relatives. One
family took advantage of Red Cross assistance to stay in a hotel, he
added.

Molinaro expects D'Amato to get help from the Federal Management
Emergency Agency (FEMA), which will visit the site today.

A FEMA spokeswoman said people eligible for disaster relief in the form
of grants and low-interest loans generally have to show that the problem
occurred between April 14 and 18, in the days bracketing the April 15
nor'easter.

But she said if Monday's collapse was linked to the April storm, FEMA
might be able to assist.

LINKED TO THE STORM

Molinaro believes the nor'easter did weaken D'Amato's wall, and he said
the 2002 violation was not an indication of poor workmanship.

"It wasn't a violation in the sense that something was being done that
wasn't right," he said. "The plans were approved but they had not pulled
the permit."

The wall was at the center of a 2002 lawsuit filed by a former Richmond
Road homeowner, not long after construction on D'Amato's house began.

Carla Iammatteo, the former owner of 1359 Richmond Rd., argued that the
wall encroached on her property and workers felled shrubs while working on
the structure. She claimed in court papers that she suffered $250,000 in
damages.

The suit was later settled but the terms were not available yesterday.

TAG:Reporter Frank Donnelly contributed to this report.

Karen O'Shea is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at
[email-masked].

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