Richmond Terrace houses

A foreman overseeing construction work at the Richmond Terrace Houses in New Brighton, which are pictured in this 2013 file photo, was arrested Tuesday after a DOI probe alleged his crew did shoddy asbestos removal work. (Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New York City Housing Authority said it has suspended asbestos removal work at the Richmond Terrace and West Brighton houses following the arrest of a foreman on the project.

The $10.4 million project, which is headed by Lakhi General Contracting Inc., involves roof, masonry restoration and asbestos abatement at both developments, according to NYCHA spokeswoman Yvette Andino.

"The project is shut down for asbestos work and we will schedule a meeting with the contractor, (construction manager) and air monitoring firm next week," Andino said, adding, "Lakhi General Contracting is no longer performing asbestos abatement work after the arrest."

On Tuesday, a crew working for Lakhi at 456 Richmond Terrace was seen "failing to use water to wet down asbestos bricks before removal, failing to properly bag and seal broken down asbestos bricks, and leaving loose bricks of asbestos on scaffolds as said scaffolds were brought down," according to a criminal complaint.

The crew's foreman was charged with criminal nuisance.

Prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos, which was once used for insulation, can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Andino maintained that despite the arrest, the project posed no threat to the health of the development's residents.

The arrest was part of an "ongoing initiative" by the city Department of Investigation that saw four more workers -- two at the Richmond Terrace Houses, two at the Berry Houses in Dongan Hills -- charged with carrying forged safety cards.

Andino said that NYCHA had "proactively partnered with the Department of Investigation to provide (an) independent third party integrity monitor to help identify exactly this type of fraud."

An engineering firm, Warren and Panzer, had been hired to monitor asbestos work on the job site, she said. The project monitor working for that firm at 456 Richmond Terrace "will be immediately fired, replaced and will not be allowed to work on any NYCHA projects," Andino said.

The city also plans to hire environmental inspectors that will do random audits of the property to make sure future asbestos abatement is up to snuff.

An outside consultant will continue to audit the work done at the Berry Houses following the arrests there, she said. That work is part of a $11.3 million roof and brick construction project, run by ABCD Contracting, at both the Berry Houses and the New Lane Shores development in Rosebank.