i live in NY, and had work done by a contracter, but i am not happy with the work. The contracter has threatened a lien, what are my rights

I understand from the information provided that you live in NY, but that you hired a contractor in Alabama to perform work on property in Alabama -- and that you are unhappy with the work. Under the law in Alabama, a contractor who performs work on realty is entitled to file a lien on the property if he is not paid.  If he is a general contractor, he normally has six months from the date of the last work performed to file his lien, and he must file suit within that time frame to enforce the lien.  Such a dispute must be resolved the same way all disputes are resolved.  Hopefully, if you have valid complaints about the quality of the work, you and the contractor can work out a resolution short of litigation.  If you are unable to find room to agree, then the courts are available to resolve the dispute for you.  Very often, the results are not wholly gratifying to either party -- and the cost of litigation is usually more than was anticipated.  You should both work hard to keep the dispute out of court.  That is especially important for you since you live in NY and the dispute will have to be resolved by courts in Alabama.  If you are convinced that the contractor has done truly shoddy work and it appears a court resolution is unavoidable, I recommend that you hire a competent contractor (one with a known reputation for excellent work) to examine the property, make recommendations for correcting it, give you a written estimate for doing the work, and then actually performing the corrective work.  Be sure he is willing to appear as a witness in court on your behalf.  Before you commit to spending money, however, and before you draw any line in the sand, I recommend that you confer with a competent real estate attorney in the community where the realty is located.