STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Joseph Perotta's home was wrecked by Hurricane Sandy and repaired by a private contractor under the city's storm recovery program, Build it Back.

He moved back a year ago, but says some of the work was shoddy.

"This is like horrendous, this work is so bad it's just embarrassing," Perotta said.

He's been fighting with Build it Back and the contractor DSW Homes to redo some of the repairs. Which is why, he says, he was especially angry to receive a letter from the contractor's lawyers.

It says they were placing a lien on his property because the city hasn't fully paid DSW Homes for the work it did there.

"Now you're making us victims again, and then using us as leverage to try to get NYC to fulfill its obligations. You've gotta have some pair to send letters like this out," Perotta said.

At least a dozen other homeowners received similar letters, all of them concerned for what a lien could mean for their credit and their ability to sell their homes.

"This is truly pouring more salt on the wounds. Again. We're victims," said Theodora Friscia, a Build it Back participant.

Build it Back says it must undertake a comprehensive audit of any rebuilding work before making a final payment to the contractor.

In the past, contractors were willing to wait for the close-out payments because they were continually getting new rebuilding work and payments under the program. But now that the program is winding down and little new work is on the horizon the contractors are now insisting on getting paid for the work they have done. 

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis says she's been getting many complaints from homeowners.

"They can't sell their homes; they can't refinance their mortgage, it can affect their credit score. All because of the city's negligence, and them being so irresponsible and slow. The bureaucracy that's involved in this program," Malliotakis said.

Over the summer, NY1 reported that two contractors were waiting on $30 million in payments from Build it Back.

Representatives for DSW Homes did not return NY1's calls for comment.

Build It Back tells NY1 the contractor knows the process for obtaining final payments, and that it is "unconscionable and inappropriate" to hold homeowners hostage.