Buddhist Temple Reconstruction Going To Court

This is what you'll see if you stop by the Watlao Buddahrakha Temple in Irvington. It’s a building project that’s paused after dispute between temple leaders and the contractor.

“[We] feel that whatever unused portion of the funds as no further construction was done on the temple,” says Lawyer for the Temple Ronald Goleman. In March, fire destroyed the temple. They hired Ryan and Company Builders Inc to start construction in September with a $20,000 down payment. Goleman says work stopped because the contractor needed more money.

“[Temple leaders] felt that strange in a falling economy that the cost of materials was rising by the week,” says Goleman

Builder Allen Ryan says temple representatives kept changing the scope of the project, thereby driving up costs. He says he'd be willing to refund some of the deposit minus time, material and labor costs. Ryan says that leaves about $5,300. Goleman says his clients are owed $15,000 to $17,000.