Subject: RE: Retainer payment and signed retainer agreement
From: "Sherman, Eric" <[email-masked]>
To: 'Christian Gray' <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Raz, Itai Y." <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 11:57:55 +0000

Hey Christian, Happy New Year.  We’ll reach out later today to discuss.  Thanks, Eric

From: Christian Gray [mailto:[email-masked]]

Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 2:11 PM

To: Sherman, Eric <[email-masked]>

Subject: Retainer payment and signed retainer agreement

Good morning Eric,

Happy New Year! I hope that you are well and feeling inspired!

I have attached the signed retainer agreement and transferred the retainer fee to your account. It will clear in 3 business days. I'm sorry it took me so long to secure the funds. My financial situation has become even more strained since
the flood.

Developments since we last spoke:

My landlord sent insurance adjusters to inspect the unit in three phases, the first adjuster coming in around the 19th of the November and then again on the 11th of December. The lead of the team is named Evan Katz, and the company is calle
Power Adjustment Group. The sub-contractor group, working under PAG, is Total Restoration Inc., and the lead's name is Julian Rivera. The team specified remediation in the forms of installing HEPA filter units and blow dryer units, as well as removing the
bottom 2' of drywall around the space, and calling for a gut renovation of the three rooms that house the recording studio spaces. They didn't remove any of the drywall in the three specified room because they said that all of the drywall and insulation need
to be removed. They removed the 2' of drywall and ran the machines for a few days in mid-December and came and collected the equipment and demolition debris on the 16th of December. They have not gutted the three rooms. They wanted to get 2' of drywall and
the machines in place so that they could show the master insurance adjuster that something was getting done. The master adjuster came (I don't remember the exact date but I think it was before I left to see my parents in Florida for Christmas) and did the
inspection and since then nothing has been done.

I had a conversation with my landlord when he first came down with the initial inspection/adjuster team on the 19th of November. He said that he had enough insurance to cover my losses. He said that he would go along with what the inspectors
specified. I reminded him of our verbal agreement specifying that I could make alterations to my space as long as they were up to code, signed off on by an architect, and built by a licensed and insured General Contractor, once he got his building permits.
I told him that I wanted to take the money from the insurance claim and put it towards the build of a new layout and he said he was amenable to that idea. I took a meeting with him last minute, last week, where we initially went back on his word. In the meeting
he said the following things that lead me to thinking that he had went back on his word:

1. The landlord, Marty Kaufman, claims that he said I could build anything I wanted to, as long as it was to code, etc., once he got the Certificate of Occupancy. He clearly stated that I could start the process once got his Building Permit
issued, and I could amend the drawings. This initial agreement was made when we talked about me making changes to the layout during the loft law negotiations with the loft board division of the DOB. He asked me not to bring up that changes at that point and
that he wanted to get the drawings approved ASAP and that I could make the changes after he got the building permit issued and that the changes could be filed as an amendment to the drawings. Clearly this was a mistake on my part for taking him at his word
and not bringing everything up with the loft board. The good news is that we have a meeting with the loft board on the 26th of February where I can bring hopefully get things finalized. The other part of positive side is that after I adamantly reminded him
of our agreement that he was willing to look at the drawing for consideration.

2. Marty is claiming that he doesn't think that the studio room need to be gut renovated. I said that his adjusters came in a specified a full gut renovation of the rooms. He said that was for the insurance claim and that wasn't "real life".
At that point we called the insurance adjuster that came in to do the moisture tests, who's name is Chris, who spec'd the rooms for demo, and Chris said that that claim was for the master insurance carrier on behalf of Marty to get the highest possible settlement
and that it was up to my landlord on how to proceed. I asked my landlord who makes the call on this and he said it was DOB. He said that it wouldn't need to be gut renovated unless there was a mold issue and that he was going to call in his mold guy. There
is mold on multiple walls. I asked him if he intended to profit off of my loss and he assured me that he had no intention of that. I asked if he would transfer the settlement money from the damages of the studio rooms, and the rest of what I had built with
my own resources toward the build out of the new design and he said that he would just get one check and he wouldn't know what that number would be. I asked if would could request a line item breakdown of the damages so we could specify the damages covering
my property, in the form of the construction of the studio's and other build outs that I did, and put my resources into. He said he would. He wouldn't admit that I own the construction of the what I built inside that loft, which I see as a potential problem
in recovering damages. I did not record our conversation nor get anything in writing.

----

Marty told me to get a good lawyer and file the claims for my personal property. I still need to complete that list. I will work on it this week. Do I need to put a claim together for the construction as well, or can I claim the money the
he is going to receive for the damages? The insurance adjuster in charge of coming up with the number asked me to give him a broad-stroke cost of construction for studio builds, which I did, the number being $225 a sq. ft. not including HVAC and Electrical.
They said they pad it when they submitted it. A studio building mentor of said that it should be more like $300 sq. ft., after I submitted it. It seems like my landlord wants to take the settlement money and do nothing, or as little as he is legally obligated
to, to the apartment.

This is where things stand at the moment. I'm still living with my partner, Laurie, in her 300 sqft. apartment and living out of a bag that I carry around with me. Not ideal.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let me know how to proceed. I look forward to hearing from you. Peace.

Sincerely,

Christian Gray

347-756-0770

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