For about 20 years, the Graham-Johnson family lived at 170 Orange Street in Albany. Lenora Graham and Jerome Johnson moved there when their daughter, Shirley Graham-Johnson, was 13. 

Shirley now has children of her own, and they also lived in the same home.

They owned the single family building outright. The Graham-Johnsons say they created a home, memories, and a community.

"It was solid. It was beautiful. It was us," says Lenora.

That was until last year, when the city tore down neighboring 172 Orange Street, and construction crews broke through a shared wall.

Shirley says her family was inside, explaining, "We noticed the damage because my son had went upstairs … We went up there like, 'what are you talking about?' Kind of nonchalant. And then when we get up there, we see all this happening. All the kids are running in fear. Everybody is running scared."

And according to a recently filed federal lawsuit, the city didn’t take the proper precautions.

More than a year ago, the construction company who did the demolition told the Albany Times Union there was no way of knowing the two connected buildings shared a wall.

Attorney Brian Deinhart is representing the family and says the city and contractors acted with "gross incompetence" or "disregard."

"Shouldn’t you have done something less immediately destructive than taking a hydraulic excavator and just ripping the house next door down? You know, take further precautions," said Deinhart.

Over the course of four days, the city did another evaluation, deciding the Graham-Johnson home also needed to be taken down. Lenora says she lost much of her art collection, and the family wasn't given the option to repair the damage.

The family also says it wasn't notified until after the demolition.

"My kids were crying that night. They had nowhere to go. They were sad. 'Mommy, what are we going to do?' " said Shirley.

The city and other parties named in the lawsuit say they can’t comment on ongoing litigation. The city has filed a motion to dismiss, which Deinhart is in the process of fighting.