B.P.C. says yes
to early morning work
Noisy work at W. Thames Park is now going to start at 7 a.m. seven days a week, after the state Dept. of Transportation got the green light from Community Board 1 this week.
The state’s contractor recently started working seven days a week to get the project back on schedule, but the contractor was waiting until 9 a.m. to start the loud work on Saturdays and Sundays, out of deference to the community.
“It’s really hindering his progress on the entire job,” Tom Mellett, the construction manager, told C.B. 1’s Battery Park City Committee Tuesday night.
Jeff Galloway, co-chairperson of the committee, said it made sense for the contractor to do the work as quickly as possible to get it over with, and other board members agreed. Mellett said the early-morning work would not be as loud as jackhammering, but would include the rumble of trucks and other equipment that needs half an hour to warm up.
The committee voted unanimously to give the contractor a one-month trial for the 7 a.m. work, unless “all hell breaks loose,” Galloway said, in which case the board would rescind its recommendation.
Some pieces of the W. Thames Park project are as much as seven weeks behind, but by doing a few jobs concurrently and doing quieter work around the clock, state D.O.T. still hopes to reopen the park by Memorial Day.
— Julie Shapiro
