A $1.1 million lawsuit was filed on October 30 in Manhattan County Supreme Court against hip-hop star A$AP Rocky (born Rakim Athelaston Mayers) and a local contractor, ADE Pro Painting. The suit alleges that “catastrophic” flooding in the rapper’s $11 million New York City condo, attributed to his “negligence,” rendered the downstairs neighbor’s apartment “completely uninhabitable.”
The “devastating water intrusion” occurred last December, according to court documents obtained by The Independent, and the suit names the rapper, producer, fashion designer, actor, model, and entrepreneur as the putative owner of Unit 5N.
A$AP Rocky resides in a lavish, full-floor loft with a private elevator, situated in a Romanesque cast-iron building constructed in 1895 and later renovated in the late 1990s. This 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom unit is notable for its imported oak floors, custom ceiling beams, and lighting by the renowned French designer Hervé Descottes. The main bedroom boasts a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling custom wardrobes, which include automated clothing rods.
The Wooster Street loft building has also been home to other prominent individuals, such as actress Claire Danes and designer Donna Karan.
According to the lawsuit, the apartment directly below Rocky’s, Unit 4NF (which sold for $6.5 million in 2021), sustained “damage and destruction” totaling at least $700,000. This damage affected its “fixtures, furnishings and improvements,” as well as “furniture, clothing, and personal items.” Furthermore, the residents of the damaged apartment claim to have incurred an additional $200,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, including the cost of alternate living arrangements since the incident.
The lawsuit says the unit is still “uninhabitable” because its ceilings, walls, floors, and electrical system had to be “torn apart and replaced.”
In an email, the owner of ADE Pro Painting told The Independent, “I want to say that I signed a NDA with the rapper, so that prevents me from providing certain details. I want to say that we are also affected from this situation, and we did not get pay [sic] for certain services provided.”
A spokesperson mentioned that the insurance company is now handling the matter.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Chez Ni, LLC, the owner of unit 4NF. Public records indicate that a 27-year-old woman named Annie Kang controls Chez Ni, LLC.
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The defendants named in the suit include ADE Pro Painting and the building’s condo board, along with A$AP Rocky’s business manager, Tyson Beem, who manages the trust holding Rocky’s 4,800-square-foot property.
The lawsuit filed by Chez Ni LLC alleges that the “catastrophic” flooding in A$AP Rocky’s NYC condo on the evening of December 23, 2024, was caused by a series of oversights. The complaint details that “several hot water pipes in and around Unit 5N… burst,” resulting in a “deluge of water” pouring into Unit 4NF and other neighboring units.
The complaint points to work done by ADE Pro Painting. It claims an employee of the painting company left all the apartment’s windows open to ventilate fumes in “below freezing temperatures.”
Furthermore, a third-party contractor called to evaluate the damage discovered that critical radiator supply valves had been left closed, and no return valves had been installed.
“The closure of the supply valves and failure to install return valves created an objectively hazardous situation,” the lawsuit says. “… Specifically, because the supply valves were closed, water could not circulate through the mechanical heating piping and the existing water remained trapped inside the fin tube radiators.”
The complaint further alleges that the pipes cracked because the water inside the radiators, which were situated along the exterior walls, froze and expanded.
“Once thawed, not only did the existing water then proceed to gush from cracks in the pipes, but also because no return valves had been installed, the water continued to flow unabated causing massive flooding,” the complaint states.
The complaint alleges A$AP Rocky’s team caused “catastrophic” flooding in the unit below, claiming they “previously engaged in unapproved construction in 2024,” specifically routing radiator pipes under floors and behind walls despite another owner being cited for the same. The “extreme flooding and damage” was therefore “completely foreseeable,” especially considering the weather, the suit claims.
“Indeed, because of the torrent of water intrusion from Unit 5N, Plaintiff’s real and personal property was severely damaged or destroyed,” the complaint alleges. “… Making matters worse, to access and completely repair the concealed heating pipes to Unit 5N, portions of Unit 4NF’s ceiling were removed,” it says. “Defendants waited several months before attempting to restore Unit 4NF’s ceiling.”
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A$AP Rocky and his camp “acted negligently and with reckless disregard of the safety of others,” the complaint claims, further blaming the condo board for failing to ensure the hot water piping and radiator valves were properly installed and maintained. It also slams the condo board for “failing and refusing to promptly repair and restore Plaintiff’s Unit, as required under the Condominium’s By-Laws.”
“The only action the Board took was to engage a contractor who, on December 23 and December 24, while the water continued to pour in from Unit 5N to Unit 4NF, among others, removed certain areas of saturated sheetrock, mopped areas of the floor, and placed dehumidifiers around the Unit,” the complaint states, adding that the board has since tried to charge the tenants of 4NF, not A$AP Rocky, more than $42,000 for the “initial, but inadequate” remediation job.
Kang and Chez Ni LLC are demanding a minimum of $900,000 from A$AP Rocky’s representative, Tyson Beem, as well as the condo board and ADE Pro Painting. They are also seeking at least $200,000 specifically from the condo board.
They are further seeking a court judgment to hold all defendants responsible for the $42,000 remediation bill that the condo is trying to charge Kang and her LLC.
This is not the first instance of alleged flooding in the building. In 2016, the resident of apartment 6N, located one floor above A$AP Rocky, faced a lawsuit from a commercial tenant on the fifth floor. The disagreement, which reportedly stemmed from a leak caused by frozen pipes, led to an estimated $2 million in damages before being resolved through an out-of-court settlement in July 2024.
A$AP Rocky also previously faced legal issues related to property rental. In 2016, a former landlord sued him for alleged damages to a Lower Manhattan apartment. The suit claimed Rocky converted a custom walk-in closet into a recording booth, damaged floors, walls, and cabinets, removed security cameras and a chandelier, and left the unit “in a generally filthy state.” Rocky filed a countersuit, asserting that the apartment had flooded and ruined his belongings. The case was ultimately settled.
The rapper, who has collaborated with brands such as Gucci, Puma, Bottega Veneta, Guess, and designer Raf Simons, has achieved notable achievements in both music and media. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and shares three children with nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna. Beyond his musical career, he has appeared in ten films, three television shows, and two video games.
