Construction noise, dust, rodents, smoke causes living hell, forces move

We lived in NYC in a quiet part of the West Village for over 3 years of which the last year was a total nightmare. Someone purchased the townhouse next door and decided to have the house completely gutted and remodeled. This is when we begain living in what I can imagine it would be like in a third world country. We endured endless banging for over 6 months. Our entire apartment and our belongings were coated in dust continuously...then the digging began, bringing up rats which moved into our apartment through the not so dividing, dividing wall. The rats moved out & then the mice arrived. The contractor decided one day to test the fireplace; thank God I was home as my apartment filled with smoke and my dogs would have no doubt died in the smoke filled apartment. I called the fire department (911), 5 engines came, smashed a hole through the roof and opened the doors to remove the smoke. The smell of smoke remained for several weeks, our clothes all had to be washed and dry cleaned. Our furniture and other belongings were covered in soot. I have no idea what we were breathing in during the time this constructions took place but we couldn't sleep well and coughed constantly. The construction workers decided to place a tarp over the entire back side of the building which blew in the wind continuously, creating so much noise we were forced to move our bedroom to the front of the house. The wall damage caused by the demolition needed to be repaired, we had to take time off work for the repair man to come in. At one point the dust became so thick, we had to take an unscheduled vacation and move out for a week. These are just of few of the many problems we endured. After a year of complaining to our landlord (who fed us a line of crap that we would be reimbursed for the inconvenience), and complaints to the construction crew next door, we decided to move. I of course am wondering if we have any legal grounds against our ex-landlord, the construction company or the owner of the remodeled house? Any advice you folks can pass along would be greatly appreciated.

Living peacefully in the burbs