A real estate developer who allegedly once threatened to dump a port-a-potty into a children’s community garden was found to have intentionally destroyed emails tied to his ongoing court battle over the greenspace.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Andrea Masley on Wednesday delivered the legal blow to David Marom — who wants to bulldoze part of the Children’s Magical Garden on the Lower East Side — and his company The Horizon Group.
Marom has been locked in a dispute with local residents seeking to protect the decades-old city oasis, which sits on the corner of Norfolk and Stanton Streets, since 2014, including fighting several lawsuits.
In the latest salvo in the case, Masley found that the developer deleted emails that could have helped the residents’ prove their accusations that he ordered his workers to “destroy trees and dump construction waste” onto the park in April 2019.
The garden’s wardens also claimed Marom’s workers “unloaded dozens of containers filled with rotting garbage” onto the property.
Marom had denied that he ordered the alleged attack on the garden.
The judge noted that Marom admitted to indiscriminately deleting emails, including ones relating to his property, 157 Norfolk Street, which borders the garden.
“According to Marom, emails were permanently deleted, emails that could have contained communications about 157 Norfolk,” Masley wrote.
Therefore, if the case goes to trial jurors can make “an adverse inference against Marom, specifically against his position that neither he nor his workers were principally involved in the incident—i.e., throwing garbage in the traffic barriers … and cutting down trees and branches,” the decision reads.
The judge also ordered Marom to pay legal fees to the garden for the costs of fighting this issue.
The president of the garden, Kate Temple-West, said that they will keep fighting for the space.
“We will continue to protect this precious sanctuary for our community’s children, and hope this ruling sends that message loud and clear,” Temple-West told The Post.
In December, Masley ruled that Marom had trespassed onto the garden by erecting encroaching fences. He is currently appealing that decision.
Lawyers for Marom didn’t return a request for comment Thursday.
