A spa next door to where a deadly fire broke out on the film set of Edward Norton’s “Motherless Brooklyn” claims in a new $2 million lawsuit that it had to close for nearly two years due to smoke and water damage.
La Juana Smith-Huebner — who owns The SPAaaht LLC, which offers manicures, pedicures, massages and facials — says she had to close up shop after the March 22, 2018, blaze and couldn’t reopen until Nov. 1, 2019, according to her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit from Thursday.
Smith-Huebner lived in Harlem for 17 years and in 2015 used her life savings to open the busin🐽ess, located adjacent t🧜o 773 St. Nicholas Ave., where the movie was being shot when the fire broke out, court papers say.
“As a result of defendants’ negligence in causing the fire and permitting it to spread and accelerate, plaintiffs … lost their entire business and were unable to operate for over 20 months,” alleges the negligence suit filed against the landlord of 773 and Norton’s production companies including Class 5, Inc.
On the film set on the first floor of 773, there were highly flammable materials. And the set and equipment “caused, and/or accelerated and fueled, a fire,” and “caused it to spread rapidly and prevented the fire department from being able to extinguish it in a reasonable time and manner,” the court papers allege.
And what’s worse, the film crew “did not warn people; in fact, they misled people into believing there had been a small fire that had been extinguished or limited,” the suit charges.
While the spa didn’t have fire damage, according to Smith-Huebner’s lawyer Elizabeth Eilender, it did have significant smoke and water damage to the walls, ceiling, floors and to supplies such as books, linens, bath mats, lamps, lotions and nail polish, the court documents claim. And Smith-Huebner lost income while her spa was closed, the suit says.
“What is disgraceful is that they spend millions of dollars on the movie but when they burn out a small day spa that the owner put her life savings into, they circle the wagons and will not give her a penny unless she files a lawsuit,” Eilender told The Post.
Firefighter Michael Davidson perished after responding to the fire. His widow, Eileen Davidson, sued the landlord, the film production companies and the city over her husband’s death. Those cases are still pending.
Displaced tenants also sued the landlord and production companies. Th༺ose cases have since been settled.
Lawyers for Clas💙s 5 and the landlord did not immediately return requests for comment.