Drama explodes at Billionaires’ Row tower as wealthy homeowners sue for ‘chalky’ water coming from the faucets

New York City’s tap water is famously high-quality — but not in this high-gloss Manhattan tower that’s home to billionaires, according to a new lawsuit.

The building that holds the record for the most expensive home ever sold in America, 220 Central Park South, is being sued in Manhattan Supreme Court by its own board over tap water that’s allegedly tainted with elevated copper, nickel and zinc — and that seven years of plumbing failures have gone unfixed.

The Robert A.M. Stern-designed edifice is where hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin paid $238 million in early 2019 for a four-story spread, still the priciest residential sale in US history. 

But now, the building is back in the spotlight for another reason entirely.

The case centers on one of the villas in the 117-unit building purchased by 220 CPS International LLC in November 2019 for a whopping $46.5 million. Its owner, an entity connected to Mexican-Israeli businessman billionaire Daniel Jusidman, has complained ever since about water leaving a “whitish, chalky residue” on kitchen and bathroom fixtures, court papers said.

“The Water Issues significantly interfere with Owner’s use and enjoyment of the Unit,” court records say.

The alleged headaches include the owner replacing the kitchen and bathroom filters multiple times to allow clear water to flow through.

A photo from the suit’s exhibits even show someone holding up a finger covered with what appears to be the chalky residue referred to in the court documents.

At present, 220 Central Park South has one home for sale asking $79.9 million for a full-floor dwelling whose bathrooms come clad in marble and whose kitchen has “bespoke detailing,” according to its listing.

But, for the owner of this unit now suing the building, those experiences in his own spaces have been anything but.

“After approximately seven years of experiencing Water Issues and hearing nothing but excuses and promises from the Board, Owner was left with no other choice but to bring suit,” the documents add.

The suit further details that, following that big-dollar buy in 2019, the owner repeatedly raised concerns about the water to the board via emails and letters — concerns the documents claim the board has acknowledged, and even said are due to wider issues throughout the building.

As the water issues persisted, the documents add, the Board brought in AWTC Water Treatment Consulting to test the villa’s water supply, with sampling conducted in June and August of 2024. The documents claim results confirmed elevated levels of zinc, aluminum, iron and copper, prompting a series of building-wide flushings that management hoped would resolve the problem.

But, as the emails show, those efforts brought little comfort to the unit’s owner. Principal Arie Jusidman — who appears to be a family member of Daniel — pushed management for answers as testing stretched on. 

“Just wondering if we are still waiting for results from water consultants’ analysis or enough time has pass [sic] to have a plan to solve this embarrassing situation,” he wrote in one email from Aug. 2, 2024, court records show.

“Hope we can soon live like normal people regarding water quality,” Daniel wrote in another email from Aug. 20, 2024, as seen in court records, after back and forth from the board about having pipes flushed out.

Lab results filed with the suit show readings well above federal guidance, the suit alleges.

A February 2026 report from MKM Environmental Consulting found copper at 2,700 micrograms per liter in the unit’s kitchen hot water, more than double the EPA’s action level, the records charge.

Nickel hit 1,600 micrograms per liter in the master bath, 16 times the agency’s health advisory, and zinc reached 16,800, over triple the aesthetic standard, the lawsuit claims.

AWTC Water Treatment Consulting tied the numbers to corrosion from stagnant pipes rather than contaminated source water, pointing to unusually low occupancy on the Villa’s upper floors. 

Staff flushed the system repeatedly through 2025, but the complaints didn’t stop.

“I’m letting you know that everything that you have done so far has not improved the quality of the water,” Jusidman wrote that July, as seen in court papers. “Please Inform if you have a plan B or we should look for solution on our side.”

Law firm Cuddy & Feder sent the Condominium a formal demand on July 2, arguing the building’s governing documents make pipe repairs the board’s job since plumbing counts as a shared element. 

When the deadline lapsed, the board sued the condominium itself so the owner could pursue a derivative claim, seeking more than $250,000 in damages and a court order forcing repairs.

The Robert A.M. Stern-designed tower also counts Sting and Alibaba billionaire Joe Tsai among its owners.

The 220 Central Park South Condominium, through general manager Maria Escallon Duque and property manager Allied Partners, did not respond to requests for comment.

Kempshall C. McAndrew of Cuddy & Feder LLP, attorney for the board of managers and the unit’s owner, also did not respond to a request for comment. Daniel Jusidman also did not respond.