People who live in glass houses shouldn't get blasted out of bed by noise from late-night parties next door, according to a new lawsuit.
The board of 1 Grand Army Plaza, the striking, ultra-luxury, glass-facade apartment building that faces the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park is suing the Union Temple of Brooklyn, claiming that the "pounding music throughout the night" from parties at the neighboring synagogue is "so loud and oppressive it literally shakes" the residential high-rise.
Dennis Sughrue, the condominium's board president, said residents tried to negotiate quietly with the synagogue, but the oldest Jewish congregation in Brooklyn blew them off.
"They basically gave us the back of their hand," Sughrue said.
"These were raucous, loud parties that went quite late. Even if the building was made of steel, you'd still hear this."
The temple, which faces Eastern Parkway and abuts the western side of the sleek, Richard Meier-designed condo building, rents out its 250-seat Grand Ballroom for events.
But the party organizers bring in their own sound systems and often blast music that has been measured at eight times the legal limit, according to lawyer Steven Sladkus.
"It's unfortunate it had to come to this," Sladkus said.
"It literally blasts the entire building."
The suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court last month, alleges that the temple "created and perpetuated this noise-related nuisance in callous disregard of the rights" of its neighbor.
Besides the thumping music, residents of the building -- where apartments go for as much as $5 million -- were bombarded with "yelling and screaming in the middle of the night, fighting and otherwise . . . rowdy" behavior, including people urinating on neighboring buildings and double and triple parking, according to the suit.
The suit seeks a permanent injunction against the temple barring it from hosting parties and at least $20 million in actual damages along with another $2 million in punitive damages.
Lawyer Michael Pensabene, who represents Union Temple, said the congregation has been renting out the hall for the last 20 years without a complaint.
He said the temple has since installed soundproofing in the hall and, without admitting any wrongdoing, has agreed to police the events more thoroughly as the suit progresses.
Sughrue said the parties haven't stopped completely, but they are not as loud as before and they end earlier.
"I think we've made the point that we won't be messed with," said Sughrue.
"It's too bad we had to file a lawsuit to get their attention, but we have their attention now."
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