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Seen & Heard: Is 101 Warren’s Sidewalk Shed Permanent?
••• Residents of 8 Spruce Street were aggravated by the Baja East fashion show and loud after-party on the roof of the parking garage across Beekman on Friday night. I’m not sure how permits for that kind of thing get doled out (if one even was). If you’re afraid of it happening again, I’d ask CB1 what it knows about that process.
••• Church Street Boxing has opened a second location on the second floor of 52 Walker (where M1-5 is).
••• It looks like a doctor’s office or waxing-salon type of situation is coming to 16 Park Place.
••• “Law & Order: SVU” is coming back yet again. Flyers posted on Reade for Tuesday.
••• J. wonders “if anyone else in the neighborhood was bothered by Steve the crazy guy who blares his boombox on Greenwich outside of 40 Harrison every morning, starting around 6 or before. He has it on full volume during the day too, horrid noise, and he rocks back and forth manically; or he leaves the boombox on a bench and strides up and down the sidewalk. Passersby ignore him. I’ve asked the guards at 40 Harrison to come ask him to turn down the music, and some do, but others say they only can respond to requests from tenants of 40 Harrison. I’ve called 311 without results.”
••• You know how there has been a sidewalk shed around 101 Warren for years now? I understand there are no plans to take it down anytime soon.
••• Patty Griffin is playing City Winery on Oct. 30 and 31. The link for tickets isn’t live yet (unless you join the premium-level club). P.S. I love this song but the video is from Matthew Barney’s Cremaster and I suspect it’s gruesome (I can’t watch it).
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http://www1.nyc.gov/site/buildings/safety/sidewalk-sheds.page
“Initial sidewalk shed permits are generally valid for one year or until the contractor’s insurance expires – whichever is shorter. Environmental Control Board violations for sheds up after their permits expire may be as high as $8,000 per violation.”
It seems a very common thing. There have been sheds over Gold street and Dutch Street for at least three years. Oddly, one never sees any work going on above them.
The noise from Steve’s radio is horrible. And, yes, he starts at 6am and does not care about the residents in the area. Instead of calling 311, you need to call the police multiple times when it occurs – they will come out. Tell them that the noise is waking you and your family up. It is best if everyone who hears the noise calls. The police will do something if many folks call. Also, call Infependence Plaza as the offender is one of their glorious tenants. Also, something should be organized with CB1 regarding Steve. He has been doing this for years. Most people are very annoyed, but assume someone else will take care of the problem. It is time to bring this to an end.
Most people aren’t delicate NIMBY’s and say hi or acknowledge Steve’s existence, rather than calling the police on him. I’m sure the police are VERY happy to receive your MULTIPLE phone calls about such a pressing issue. Get a clue sweetheart or move back to the South where you and your “glorious” neighbors can complain to each other about how the Country Club has gone downhill since they started letting “Those people in.” I hear Charlotte is nice this time of year.
Seriously, you live in a city, grow a thicker skin, or at the very least go yell at your architect for not putting better soundproof windows in your renovation plan.
Sheds are a huge problem. When there is a problem and the sheds have to go up, it is much cheaper to put the sheds up than to actually fix the problem. It is also much cheaper to extend a permit than to take the shed down and put one up again later. This is a problem that seems to be getting worse not just here but all over Manhattan.
I do have good news about the sheds on Dutch & John (45 John) and Gold & John (80 John). 45 John is wrapping up its conversion to a rental tower and should be ready for leasing by the end of the year and therefore should no longer need its scaffolding. 80 John’s scaffolding should be coming down by November as their project is wrapping up as well.
What about the one at 90 Washington (southwest corner of Washington and Rector)? Hasn’t that been up for like ten years?
Yes, the one at 90 Washington has been up for over 10 years. The beer garden downstairs has lights and other decor attached to it. It looks pretty permanent.
A good article about sheds is here: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160124/REAL_ESTATE/160129960/scaffolds-are-everywhere-in-new-york-city
“THE EVER-PRESENT SHED on Delly’s Harlem block sprouted up about four months after the four-story, eight-unit building was acquired in 2004 by Muhammad Shahid.
“Shahid, who is listed in city records as president of a firm called Zamzam Realty, said the shed has stood for so long because the area’s landmark status has made it hard to get renovation plans approved. ‘I have no idea when the shed will come down,’ he said.
“Shahid may infuriate people who live near his property, but he’s one of many landlords who have concluded it’s cheaper to keep up a shed—and pay fines for violations—than it is to fix a building.
“Here’s the math: To erect a 200-foot-long shed costs around $25,000, half of which is paid upfront and the rest when the shed is taken down. In between, the shed builder would collect about $700 per month in rent. Suppose the building owner needed to replace loose bricks and masonry, tighten the parapet and waterproof the roof. If the building were higher than 15 stories, he would need to employ a full-time site-safety inspector, install protection over neighboring buildings, and put up a shed that extends 20 feet past the end of its façade in each direction. The entire cost of the renovation project, including the shed and scaffolding? Easily $250,000, according to Cowley. Even a prosperous building owner would probably flinch at that expense; the less wealthy simply put up the shed and worry about when it will come down some other day.
“This could be remedied with legislation similar to the law requiring the Housing Authority to take down its [dormant] sheds. But City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito wouldn’t comment on whether she would support such a law, and the state couldn’t pass one without the city giving its go-ahead.”
Yeah, so Steve’s radio is bothersome but more importantly, what idiot granted a fireworks permit for the evening of 9/10? They were extremely loud and inappropriate for the solemn occasion of 9/11. In addition, this IS Ground Zero and the very loud noise had a lot of people very frightened by the noise. I guess if you grease the right palm, you can get anything done in this city. Just terrible. Haven’t been able to find what the “occasion” was yet or the person responsible for this.
And while on the noise topic: Why in hell are motorcycles permitted to run through the neighborhood at all hours with those loud bikes; all totally unnecessary when the sound can be muffled. In a city where a honking horn gets you a ticket, how are motorcycles getting away with it for years? Never even becomes a question. Muffle those things.
The fireworks were in Hoboken (not this city, not this state). Every year, they have fireworks for their Italian festival and usually it is the second Saturday of September. Unfortunately it was on September 10th this year. But it is a tradition that predates 2001, so you can forgive them.
The Long Island motorcycle get-together every year at midnight is annoying. It is not licensed or sanctioned by the local police is my understanding. I saw near road rage last night with a motorcyclist trying to block traffic to let the motorcade through by jumping on the hood of a cab. Complete craziness. For the solemn character of the event they should crack down on that wild get-together especially given the neighborhoods already tolerates the motorcycles the afternoon of September 11th. Hopefully enough people protest so they will put an end to it in the future.
According to the article linked below, this year is supposedly the last organized 9-11 motorcycle ride.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Last-Sept-11-Memorial-Motorcycle-Ride-Comes-to-Ground-Zero-390841971.html
I’ll believe it when I see it. Or rather when I no longer hear it.
The article reports the end of one specific interstate organized ride that leaves a trial of 5-to-10-mile backed-up traffic across five states on their way to delighting our residential neighborhood with their patriotic exhaust pipes.
The organizer is disappointed that law-enforcement no longer wish to inconvenience locals along their route.
But these heroic flag-wavers have established a precedent and plenty of others are ready to take up the cause.
In fact, here’s a fb link to the Long Island 9-11 ride meet up: https://www.facebook.com/events/1787491844828401/
According to the page it’s POLICE ESCORTED and “definitely something you don’t want to miss!”, “…be sure to check out the Freedom Tower!”
Yippee.
So let’s all take a moment to thank our own local law-enforcement for ensuring that these dignified motorcyclists arrive safely and promptly to our neighborhood at midnight for their solemn remembrance.
And I’d like to personally thank these patriots for their tradition of waking my sleeping children thus ensuring that the future generation never forgets.
While you’re at it, why not organize an annual midnight monster-truck rally at Arlington National Cemetery on the Fourth of July to support our troops?
Let’s all chant together now: U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!
Marie and Sick of It, I feel your pain, but you should know what you’re up against. Many years ago (pre-9/11) I had a long conversation with the Officer in Charge of Deflecting Residents’ Concerns, or whoever it was, at the First Precinct. I was trying to find out how to get them to stop the motorcycles with the loud exhaust pipes, up to fifteen of which park daily (and nightly) on my narrow street with tall buildings on either side, a perfect echo chamber at 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. when the regulars arrive and depart, with appropriate revving of engines and riding up and down the street. After a lot of circular conversation, it came down to: They can’t stop them because they can’t quantify how loud they actually are, so it isn’t fair to the motorcycles. The gist of the conversation follows. Me: “So don’t you have one of those things that measures how loud a vehicle exhaust is?” Officer CDRC: “No; that’s not something you usually find in a city. It’s more like something that is used on the New Jersey turnpike and places like that.” Me: “You mean the greatest police force in the country doesn’t have one of these but New Jersey does?” I don’t remember his answer but I’m sure it wasn’t to the point.
I know when it’s time to end a conversation.
Can’t measure noise in the city? What about in the 90s when they cracked down on cars going up 6th avenue in the West Village? They had them then. So many cops are part of these gangs (yes, gangs) so they look the other way.
Agreed. Noise laws should be properly enforced against vehicle drivers who allow their vehicles to make such excessive noise, whether through intent or negligence.
As we see, however, not even the horn-honking laws are enforced. I have never seen anyone ticketed for the horn honking. It’s a ridiculous noise-fest of road rage every time the light turns greet at my corner. It’s single lane, so some driver will be waiting to turn, thus holding up the traffic behind, but for a legitimate reason: namely, there are pedestrians crossing on the Walk sign. But reason matters little, one person hits their horn and then you have a chain reaction down the line until everyone is expressing their impotence (in every sense) with their horns.
So: Keep reporting such noise to 311. The city claims noise complaints are down; things will only have a hope of change if the city believes the citizens really care about this issue.
“You can make a complaint about non-emergency noise coming from a vehicle, including a motorcycle. Non-emergency noise can include horn honking, engine revving or idling, and loud music. Officers from your local police precinct will respond when they are not handling emergency situations.”
http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/1199/noise-from-vehicle
From: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/noise_code_guide.pdf
“> The Noise Code prohibits excessive sound from the muffler or exhaust of motor vehicles operating on a public right-of-way where the speed limit is 35 mph or less.
> Excessive sound is:
• Plainly audible at a distance of 150 feet or more from vehicles of less than 10,000 lbs. (cars); and
• Plainly audible at a distance of 200 feet or more from vehicles of more than 10,000 lbs., (trucks); and
• Plainly audible at a distance of 200 feet from a motorcycle.”
Regarding the obnoxious Baja East event staged at the Beekman Street parking garage: I live in the neighborhood, and when I approached the thugs guarding the entrance to the event to complain about the noise, I was greeted with a rude response and ordered to leave. When I tried to snap photos of the event as proof of the neighborhood disturbance, someone standing nearby slapped my phone out of my hands and it went crashing to the ground. As I picked up my phone this same person slapped it out of my hands again! Needless to say, this person ran from the event and left me with a $300 phone replacement fee.