Construction noise is expected to be down outside P.S./I.S. 89 when students return to class this September.
Milstein Properties is spending the summer driving piles for their condo towers at Sites 23 and 24, across the street from P.S./I.S. 89, but they expect to complete the noisy work by the first week of school.
“[Milstein] doubled their pile-driving efforts so it would be done before school starts,” said Brian Krapf, spokesperson for Milstein.
Once Milstein finishes pile-driving, the developer will lay the foundation and build the superstructure of the towers, work Krapf expects to be quieter. He does not expect construction noise to be a problem once school starts.
The condo towers will sit on N. End Ave. between Warren and Murray Sts., adjacent to the ballfields.
Excavation started in May 2008, but the project has been in the works for several years and is delayed.
Even before the Goldman Sachs accident in May, in which a sheet of metal flew off Goldman’s partially constructed headquarters and landed in the ballfields, the community has been worried about Milstein’s high-rise construction endangering playing children. As part of its lease with the Battery Park City Authority, Milstein put up a high fence with arm-like protrusions that will catch anything that falls off or onto the building, such as baseballs. Milstein also installed netting around the construction site.
Milstein and Goldman are attending safety meetings with City Councilmember Alan Gerson and have voluntarily adopted additional safety measures, said Leticia Remauro, spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority.
— Laura Latzko
