PEMBROKE, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Genesee County family is blaming local governments for major damage that’s been done to their home over the past year.

Last summer, a family in Pembroke had to evacuate their home, because it appeared it had been sinking.

The Nati family of Pembroke, has filed a notice of claim against the towns of Pembroke and Newstead, as well as Genesee and Erie counties. The family claims local governments allowed a company to expand its limestone blasting operation one mile away, causing major damage to the home.

The home is on Scribner Road in the Town of Pembroke.

The Nati family says one day last summer they started hearing popping sounds early in the morning, cracking in their land, and that their home appeared to be sinking into the ground.
Local emergency officials were notified and the family was given little time to grab a few essentials and then were forced to get out.

“Its been a financial burden, we had to buy furniture that would fit into an apartment versus a 2,600 square foot house we had to have family, friends, and local fire companies help us save as much property as we could,” Gene Nati said by phone. “We had to separate my family, me and my wife and my youngest daughter got an apartment in Akron, my eldest daughter, her husband and my grandchildren, who were living with us, got an apartment in Pembroke.”

The Nati family says local governments were negligent and reckless in allowing the Akron Quarry operation to expand and they plan to sue for damages. The family says this nightmare has split their family up.

“It’s been a living hell, in one day, we went from a normal family talking about retirement and future plans to having our worlds spun completely upside down,” Nati said.

He says that the home is still sinking into the ground, twisting and falling apart. Insurance isn’t covering the damage, citing Earth movement as ineligible for coverage in New York State.

Early on, geologists and other experts were used to investigate the land. Nati believes it has something to do with a fault line running from his property to the quarry and the amount of water they’re pumping.

The family says they intend to sue local governments for more than $1 million in damages to their home, loss in property value and personal property. News 4 reached out for a response to these claims but has not heard back.