The resident of a white-glove Fifth Avenue co-op is taking her building to the cleaners over a washing machine.
Helen Siller, 63, slapped the board of 11 Fifth Ave. with a $600,000 suit for forcing her to replace her broken Maytag with one of three, pricey approved brands.
“This makes as little sense to us as it does to you,” Siller’s lawyer hubby Stephen Siller told The Post.
Stephen said he was forced to file the only-in-New York suit in Manhattan Supreme Court after the co-op board president allegedly reneged on a promise that their old appliance was grandfathered in and not subject to the new house rules governing the machines.
“All I want is for common sense to prevail,” Stephen told board president Diane Nardone in an email that is part of the suit. “If you choose to spend coop money to fight this, it’s on you, not me.”
Stephen and Helen had to jump through hoops with the city’s Dept. of Building and Landmarks Preservation Commission to cut a vent in the wall on their terrace when they first installed a washer and dryer in 1990, according to the suit.
The construction was part of an extensive renovation the couple did after purchasing an adjoining unit in the historic co-op they have called home since 1980.
The 20-story building was once home to Buddy Holly, and its predecessor, the Brevoort Hotel, hosted Charles Lindbergh to celebrate his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927.
Their current lease and alternation agreement specifically allow the washer-dryer configuration, the suit says.
Stephen says the combined units, 12R and 12T, are where the couple plans to live out the rest of their lives.
The Sillers want to swap the broken Maytag out with another budget washer instead of the board’s pre-approved brands that would require “unnecessary expensive and extensive electrical work.”
The more energy efficient alternatives—the high-voltage Miele, Bosch and Asko—start at around $900 compared to the $300 to $400 Maytag and vent into the room instead of outside.
“If the board thinks I am going to get a self-venting anything and patch the hole at my expense, we will let a court decide” Stephen said in an email to board president Diane Nardone on Feb. 3.
Nardone shot back “I do not appreciate your tone or your threats. Go to court. We’ll let a judge decide whether our house rules and our alternation agreement should be enforced,” according to the suit.
She denied having told Stephen in 2012 that his machine was grandfathered in.
The Sillers are asking for $600,000 in damages to compensate for their inconvenience and renovation work required if they have to use one of the board’s approved appliances.
Nardone did not return a call for comment.