Block a building permit, void a lease

Hello, Community. I was notified yesterday that repointing construction in the highrise next door to my townhouse will require a scaffold to be built over my deck, killing my many plants, forcing everything on the deck indoors, and blocking my 1BR's primary wall of natural light and ventilation. There is also a noise and air issue in that the dry cleaner downstairs runs machines with clear ability... [more]

Hello, Community. I was notified yesterday that repointing construction in the highrise next door to my townhouse will require a scaffold to be built over my deck, killing my many plants, forcing everything on the deck indoors, and blocking my 1BR's primary wall of natural light and ventilation. There is also a noise and air issue in that the dry cleaner downstairs runs machines with clear ability to ventilate (and disperse sound) upward now, but my deck will be turned into their exhaust and echo chamber. This is in Manhattan, West 15th, by the way. The highrise has offered insultingly low compensation for my inconvenience and my landlord has just shrugged and said "they have a permit, I can't do anything" but I actually believe my landlord entered into my lease in bad faith (permits were approved a year ago) and the broker explicitly misled us about the construction situation next door. I am in touch with a deputy borough commissioner at the DoB and am shopping for tenant lawyers as I write. Does anyone here have experience blocking an already-issued building permit for health and safety reasons? In addition to the above, the building has water leakage issues which certainly affect the structural integrity of a level with hundreds of tons of scaffold concentrated onto it. I'm probably going to pay a consulting engineer to do a structural as part of my request to audit/revoke the building permit. Also, my landlord claims he was only contacted this week with the 200 / month rent reduction offer by the scaffold-erecting neighbor, but I believe he knew this last year, which would make my lease voidable via bad faith and misrepresentation. I would love any thoughts from the experts here about how to strategize. I am prepared to spend an amount equal to my remaining 8 months of rent in order to cause construction delays and legal hassles for the neighboring building, and to pressure them and my landlord to split the cost of letting me out of my lease and moving on short notice. Thanks in advance for tips. A tenant lawyer referral would be great, too, I need to retain one immediately. [less]