Seen & Heard: Buddha Bar Update

••• Yesterday was my first trip to the Saturday Tribeca Greenmarket in a while. I was pleased to discover that Lani’s Farm once again has eggs, and I picked up some of those reusable produce bags (four for $10) at the Greenmarket’s stall. And lilacs! Which came with a free reusable tote, courtesy of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

••• Starting today, Cloud Gallery on W. Broadway is holding painting classes on Sundays: No experience is necessary, all materials are provided, and “everyone is guaranteed to leave with a painting they can be proud of!” The rate is $65. RSVP here.

••• Buddha Bar says it’s shooting to open in the fourth quarter of this year.

••• The windows at 173 W. Broadway (northeast corner of Worth) have been uncovered. I was expecting a more finished interior….

••• Lexus was filming an ad in the W. Broadway/Murray area yesterday today. I guess they didn’t like the weather yesterday.

••• S. has had it with the construction of the Toll Brothers City Living condominium at 351-355 Broadway, a.k.a. 91 Leonard.

I have made numerous complaints to 311 over the last few months and now have started forwarding them to the community board email including supporting photos and videos. But in most cases I get no response or sometimes a “resolution” email declaring all work was done with proper permits.

The site only had frontage and access on Broadway and so they block the sidewalk and 2 lanes leaving only one functioning lane (the eastern most being always blocked by Court vehicles) on Broadway. Then they jam it with their own trucks and idling cement mixers. This being just a block north of the lane blockage due to repairs on Worth street, it causes congestion all day and unbearable noise of honking and traffic on top of all construction vehicles and construction related noise. I have had my kids school bus trapped for 10 min on days because of the congestion and lane blockage at 7:30 in the morning. I wonder who gives them “permits” to do this and what little care they have about the residents in the area.

The second issue is of course after hours construction. The machines start humming well below 7 a.m. in preparation. During pour days, which is every week, they never finish on time and continue as long as they need to, which in some days is about 9:30 PM. Even after they finish pouring they continue to clean the mixers and the pipes using jackhammers well into the night. I am sure they are breaking the rules. In any case to be subject to noise for more than 12 hours a day 6 days a week is inhuman and this is not the only construction site in the block as you would know.

I’m not sure what recourse there is, other than to call Community Board 1 and Margaret Chin’s office until you can get someone to engage with you about the issue.

 

4 Comments

  1. Agree !! this is a horrible situation all around. I too experience the cement trucks plus all the disruptions and noise from before 7 to late in the evening. I have called 311 numerous times with the same result. The area is a total mess with all the other construction going on not to mention Worth street and clocktower, 56 Leonard and all of the storefronts being renovated. The noise is unbearable. I work at home plus have to negotiate truck deliveries and pickup of my own work which has gotten impossible as there is nowhere for them to park even for a few minutes. And yes there is little regard for the residents who have to live amidst it all. There is a buildout at the old knitting factory on Leonard that also is causing tons of noise all day and this renovation buildout has been going on for about a year!! And Guess what it will be a goddamn sales office for another new condo!! The irony of it all is not lost.

  2. The construction makes that block unsafe esp when I am walking w my kids. I don’t dare to wait for the M55 bus at the bus stop there any more. Feel like an accident waiting to happen.

  3. Make sure to always lead with the fact that you’re not making any money on their construction projects, as the primary justification why you shouldn’t have to suffer inconveniences. In the past I’ve found it really shuts them up. Otherwise, they attempt to elicit your sympathy as to how hard their work is (“but the pour was delayed,” “traffic is hard,” etc). Money talks.

  4. You can send a 150 word email the Commissiomer, and maybe other senior executives of a NYC agency by going to their page on NYC.gov.

    In theory, City Hall tracks those complaints and responses, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

    Nonetheless, it is another way to complain to relevant agencies.

    Of course, if it is the Building Department, “lose hope all ye who enter here.”

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