Doug E. Fresh files $1M lawsuit over alleged ‘rodent infested’ construction

The Human Beat Box is suing a Harlem neighbor for $1 million over a stalled construction project down the street from his home.

Legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh says in his Manhattan suit that the now-halted building project at 249 W. 131st St. has caused major problems to the adjacent brownstone at 251 W. 131st St., which he used to own.

He now lives at 259 W. 131st St. but is suing on behalf of 251’s late owner, Arlene Davis. Fresh is the executor of her estate. It’s not clear what the rapper’s relationship with Davis was.

Fresh, whose real name is Douglas Davis, says in the suit that the under-construction building shares a common wall with 251. And while work on 249 began in March 2016, it was stopped by the city Department of Buildings a year later — causing major problems to 251, his Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.

The 249 building was left without a rear wall, which weakened the whole structure, causing a crack to form along the top-to-bottom wall that both properties share, the suit says.

The crack has now “allowed water to infiltrate the wall system … seep into the soil and foundation of the adjoining premises, compromise the structural integrity of the adjoining premises, and cause damage,” the court papers say.

Also, “rodents infested and nested” in debris and dirt piles left behind in construction, which has caused a “constant rodent infestation” in 251, the court documents claim.

Fresh — who doesn’t want any further work done until the problems are fixed — is suing the architects of the project, the building owners and the construction companies who were involved.

Architect Anthony Cucich — who is named as one of the defendants — told The Post on Monday, “I was involved only on the design of the job. The problem is the contractor didn’t follow the plan.

“He started taking down the building without shoring it up.

“Then [the DOB] stopped the job, and since then, it’s been a struggle going on and off,” Cucich said, adding the group is in the approval process with the DOB and close to beginning work again.

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