Contractor alleges Amenia never paid bills for sidewalk work

AMENIA — Town officials are facing a lawsuit alleging nonpayment for contracted services relating to work on the sidewalk extension along Route 44 to Beekman Park.

Amenia’s Town Board appointed town attorney Ian Lindars to handle litigation against the town stemming from a contract with Raja Contractors Inc. that was originally approved in 2023.

According to court documents and public meeting minutes available at ameniany.gov, the Town Board originally contracted Raja to complete construction work on the project in July 2023. The work was stalled, however, as state Department of Transportation officials ordered changes to the plans that meant builders couldn’t start construction.

The town then terminated the contract in February 2025, intending to re-bid the project and seek another contractor to complete the work. Raja Contractors alleges the town did not pay bills totalling $54,757, incurred while the company was under contract and conducting pre-construction work between 2023 and 2025.

After terminating the contract, the town reopened bidding for the project and eventually chose construction firm Southern Industries. That work officially began in September 2025, but dragged into the winter and eventually stalled at an incomplete state.

The lawsuit was filed in Dutchess County Supreme Court on July 7.

The effort to install a new sidewalk along Route 44 connecting Beekman Park to downtown Amenia remains stalled as Lindars continues negotiations to secure funding needed to complete the project. Those negotiations are independent from the current lawsuit.

Town Supervisor Rosanna Hamm said the town is seeking compensation through the project’s performance bond after construction problems forced work to stop earlier this year. The bond is intended to reimburse the town for the additional costs of completing the project when a contractor fails to meet its contractual obligations.

Hamm said Town Attorney Ian Lindars has been negotiating with the bonding company for months, but there is little the town can do until those discussions are complete.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Hamm said. “All I can do is nag.”

The sidewalk project has been at a standstill since January, after the New York State Department of Transportation issued a stop-work order citing concerns over stormwater catch basins that didn’t match specifications and other construction-related issues.
The project is half-finished and several sections of concrete need to be replaced.

Southern Industries, the contractor hired for the project, was later terminated. Town officials have said the company was the low bidder selected after engineering firm LaBella Associates reviewed its references.

Hamm said the town’s attorney and the bonding company are currently working out how much compensation the town will receive to complete the remainder of the work. She didn’t have any updates on the status of those talks as of Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Despite the hold-up, Hamm said homeowners on property abutting the sidewalk project have had their mailboxes and driveway access restored. However, the sidewalk remains unfinished, and several sections of concrete will need to be removed and replaced after they were poured during cold weather and failed to cure properly.

Town officials said the contractor’s inconsistent work schedule contributed to repeated delays that ultimately led to the construction deficiencies.

“It’s the bane of my existence,” Hamm said. “This whole thing has been a nightmare.”

Southern Industries and its chief executive, Jonathan Delisa, have been named in multiple pending lawsuits alleging professional misconduct including wage theft, forgery, impersonation and defaulting on a loan for construction equipment.

Delisa denied wrongdoing in May, but otherwise refused to comment on the allegations in the lawsuits. He also said he was not the chief executive of Southern Industries, and merely served as a construction manager and foreman. Public filings with the New York Secretary of State’s office lists Delisa as the company’s chief executive.

Delisa could not be reached for further comment.

Washington Town Supervisor Gary Ciferri said in May that his town had similar issues with Southern Industries when the construction company won a bid to complete renovations at Washington’s Town Park in 2023.

Ciferri said construction crews didn’t keep a consistent schedule and eventually abandoned the project, causing the town to hire another company to finish the work.