At Manhattan’s 220 Central Park South, the luxury drama is now coming straight from the faucets. A villa-unit owner says the water has left behind a whitish, chalky residue, while testing found elevated levels of zinc, copper and nickel. The dispute has escalated into a lawsuit seeking money and court-ordered repairs at one of New York’s most expensive addresses.
The lawsuit is tied to a unit purchased in November 2019 for $46.5 million by an entity connected to Daniel Jusidman, according to the New York Post. Court records describe emails from the owner asking whether there was a plan to fix the water-quality problem, including one message saying he hoped residents could soon “live like normal people” regarding the water. The case seeks more than $250,000 in damages and an order requiring repairs.
The most recent testing cited in the case was conducted in February. An MKM Environmental Consulting report found zinc at 16,800 micrograms per liter in the unit, copper at 2,700 micrograms per liter in kitchen hot water and nickel at 1,600 micrograms per liter in the primary bathroom.
For context, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists a copper action level of 1.3 milligrams per liter, or 1,300 micrograms per liter, under its Lead and Copper Rule. That rule is based on sampling across a public water system, so a single condo-unit result does not by itself establish a regulatory violation, but the copper reading described in the lawsuit is more than twice that benchmark.
The fight centers on corroding pipes, not city water
The available consultant findings point toward a plumbing problem rather than contaminated source water. Testing by AWTC Water Treatment Consulting attributed the elevated metals to corrosion from stagnant pipes and low occupancy, while the building carried out system-wide flushings through 2025, the Post reported.
That explanation has not ended the dispute. The owner raised concerns with the board in August 2024, and Cuddy & Feder sent a formal demand on July 2, 2026, arguing that repairs to the building’s pipes are the condominium board’s responsibility.
A second lawsuit adds to 220 Central Park South’s legal headaches
The water case arrives after another fight involving the Billionaires’ Row tower. In December, neighboring Gainsborough Studios sued Vornado Realty Trust, alleging that construction of 220 Central Park South damaged the historic co-op and seeking at least $3 million for repairs, as reported by The Real Deal.
Those cases involve different parties and allegations, but both put the tower’s infrastructure and building responsibility under a courtroom microscope. For the villa owner, the immediate question is less about Central Park views or celebrity neighbors and more about whether turning on the tap should produce clear water instead of a powdery film.
The lawsuit does not establish that the building’s entire water supply is contaminated, and the parties’ competing explanations have not been resolved by a court. For now, the costly fight at 220 Central Park South is about who must diagnose the plumbing, pay for the fix and answer for what has been coming out of the faucets.
