A Manhattan couple’s dream of building an indoor lap pool beneath their $30 million Upper East Side townhouse has turned into a legal fight with their next-door neighbors—complete with allegations of health risks, structural concerns, and months of disruptive drilling.
This story first made headlines in the New York Post, and while it reads like a splashy tabloid piece, there are real challenges here that anyone in the trades will recognize.
The homeowners—hedge funder Zachary Kurz and his wife Brittany Morgan, an heiress to a real estate fortune—combined two townhouses on East 77th Street to create a massive single residence. Their plans include installing an indoor pool in the cellar, which would require excavating deep into Manhattan bedrock and underpinning the foundation.
Their elderly neighbors, both doctors in their seventies, say the work poses serious risks to their home—and their health. They’re suing to block the project, arguing that the prolonged construction and vibrations could damage their house, harm their art and wine collections, and worsen existing medical conditions.
The Reality Behind a Cellar Pool in Manhattan
Installing a pool beneath a New York City townhouse isn’t like digging a hole in the suburbs. It means going through rock—slowly, carefully, and loudly.
Veteran builder Bob Blanda, who’s overseen multiple projects like this in Manhattan, told the Post exactly what that looks like.
“They have to underpin the foundations,” Blanda said. “You’re bringing the foundations deeper into the ground and you’re touching the neighbors’ foundations, so a lawyer will get involved.”
It’s a surgical process. Crews drill small holes into the schist bedrock and use rock splitters to break it apart in controlled sections. That debris is moved out of the house—often by hand, bucket, or conveyor—and hauled away. It’s not fast, and it’s not quiet.
“They are drilling holes into the bedrock and they split the rock with a tool called a rock splitter,” Blanda told the Post.
The work is expected to take close to a year. That means weekday construction noise, vibrations, and heavy machinery passing in and out of the property on a daily basis.
A License Fee Dispute at the Core
At the heart of the dispute is something pool contractors in the city are all too familiar with: access license agreements.
Because the excavation involves getting close to or working beneath the neighbors’ structure, the builders need a legal agreement to install protection, monitor for movement, and perform any work that might impact the adjoining property. This is where things went sideways.
According to court documents, the project team initially offered a monthly license fee of around $500. The neighbors countered, asking for more than $10,000 per month—plus expenses for storing artwork, monitoring air quality, protecting a vintage chandelier, and relocating their wine collection.
So far, no agreement has been reached, and the courts may end up deciding whether the project can move forward.
A Laundry List of Risks
The neighbors claim the project could cause “significant, potentially irreparable harm” to their property. Their concerns include:
- Dust from excavation entering their home and affecting respiratory conditions
- Vibrations damaging antique furniture, fine art, and delicate architectural features
- Foundation shifts from underpinning work jeopardizing structural stability
- Humidity from the eventual indoor pool, raising concerns about moisture intrusion
It’s worth noting that cellar pools—even when completed—can present unique challenges. Ventilation, dehumidification, water treatment, and ongoing maintenance all require special attention in an enclosed underground space.
Rare but Not Unheard Of
While private indoor pools are nothing new in New York’s luxury market, digging them beneath townhouses is still relatively rare.
Blanda estimated that only around 50 pools of this type exist across Manhattan. The logistics, engineering, and expense often outweigh the convenience.
“These types of projects require $5 million in liability insurance just to get on the job,” Blanda told the Post.
There’s also the matter of whether the pool actually gets used. According to sources in the Post, some of these cellar pools see very little action after they’re built—especially once the kids grow up or the novelty wears off.
Noise, Parking, and a Block on Edge
Beyond the walls of the two properties, neighbors on the street are also raising concerns.
Excavation equipment, concrete trucks, dumpsters, and service vehicles will occupy valuable curb space for months. With limited parking and narrow sidewalks, even a well-run jobsite can cause headaches for everyone nearby.
Daily construction schedules, weekend deliveries, and after-hours cleanups quickly strain patience—even in a city where most people are used to renovation noise.
That’s why these types of projects, while technically legal, often face public pushback if there isn’t strong communication and buy-in from the block. Once trust is lost, it’s tough to get back.
The Bigger Picture
This dispute is now headed for court. If the license agreement isn’t resolved, the judge may have to determine whether the project moves forward and under what conditions.
In the meantime, the case has put a spotlight on just how complex and contentious these ultra-luxury upgrades can become—especially in historic neighborhoods with aging infrastructure, tight spaces, and zero room for error.
While the headlines might make it sound like a classic rich-versus-rich soap opera, the core issues—access, risk, logistics, and impact—are all things pool builders and contractors deal with on the ground.
For now, the pool remains on paper, the neighbors remain in court, and the street remains divided.
Photo Credit: Zachary Kurz / Brittany Morgan – Shutterstock / Lev Radin
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