Code of silence shakedown: Lennar employees file suit
By Sarah Phelan
Two days after the Guardian ran a cover story about Lennar Corp.'s failure to control asbestos dust at Hunters Point Shipyard ("The Corporation That Ate San Francisco," 3/14/07), three Lennar employees filed a suit alleging that the developer retaliated against them for questioning construction dust, imposed "a code of silence," and targeted them and other African Americans in the workplace with racial discrimination and harassment.
The allegations add weight to community concerns about Lennar, which controls the redevelopment of the shipyard and Treasure Island.
Lennar project manager Gary McIntyre, Lennar community benefit liaison Clementine Clarke, and Lennar administrative assistant Celoa Richardson filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court on March 16 seeking unspecified financial damages.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Angela Alioto, told the Guardian what Lennar has done is "environmental racism."
Lennar spokesperson Sam Singer told us, "Lennar is engaged in no unlawful conduct. The allegations in the lawsuit are simply untrue. Lennar's leadership in San Francisco is headed by Kofi Bonner, one of the most respected African American executives in the nation."