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Seen & Heard: Are the Events on Pier 26 Too Noisy?
••• A couple of people commented about the noise from events on Pier 26. Makes one wonder if the speakers stage should be on the West Street side, facing the river?
—Felicia Onofrietti: “I’m a resident of IPN on N. Moore off West. Pier 26 literally down the block has just opened as a music venue, which began non-stop three days ago. While I’m all in favor of culture, this is culture on steroids. With eight amplifiers, plus concrete pier and surrounding concrete buildings to further amplify has become a blight on the remaining quality of life that the promenade was meant to extend to residents and visitors of Tribeca. Also, apparently there is no ceiling on decibel level. Sound cannot be blocked out and is oppressively intrusive when at home—put this together with the motorcycles racing up and down the West Side Highway, garbage trucks and noise from the loading dock of the Citibank building, disco boats on the water, mostly in the wee hours is a threat to anyone’s sanity. What can be done about this new nasty to the neighborhood?”
—Lisa: “I feel your pain. I finally had to move to our bedroom in the back to escape the constant thumping that keeps escalating with each mix. I can’t read a book in my living room or watch TV! There needs to be some guidelines regarding decibel levels. I thought that when the sound permits are issued by Precinct One they are clear about the level and write it on the permit.”
••• Another Pier 26 question/criticism, this one from Joshua Schwarz: “I’m all for the new Pier 26 being used in the Gay Pride Week celebration but I was surprised and disappointed to learn that the Hudson River Park Trust allowed the pier to be used for a high priced event associated with the festivities. The June 30th dance event on the pier has ticket prices of $45-$1,250. A high priced event seems to me to be incompatible with a public park’s mission.” Think of it as a benefit for the park. [Smithers, that’s your cue!]
••• KP had this advice for noise complaints: “The steps that have worked best for me [for non-emergency late night construction] are 1) documenting the problem with video so you can show how noisy it actually is, 2) contacting Kelly MacGee at Margaret Chin’s office and linking her to your video, and 3) getting someone really REALLY famous who lives nearby to also complain. SIGH.”
••• Summer Sale Report (part 11): Grown & Sewn is offering 25% off selected items. Click on image for code, although I hear it won’t be required soon.
••• Summer Sale Report (part 12): Frankly Wines sent out a cute email about its “3rd Annual Sick of Looking at It Sale. Yes, this is really just the standard early summer shelf cleaning that I should have done over Memorial Day. But with three kids and three separate last days of school…. well, there’s only so much girl can handle. […] Most sale prices reflect at least a 15% discount, many even more, with a handful cut close to cost. […] To see what’s available, go to the Wines page, enter SALE into the search field and search. Quantities are limited—first come, first serve.”
••• Joel sent in this mini rant (and that’s not a word I use pejoratively!): “This is a scene that happens every day of the week. The police cruiser below came down White Street, the light was red, on go the lights and the cruiser jumps the stop light and performs and illegal right turn into W. Broadway and then turns left into N. Moore street to save it the hassle of having to go down to Leonard and then come all the way back round. This has been made worse now by the removal of the right turn at Franklin as the Citi Bikes have taken over that stretch of road. You now have to go even further down W. Broadway as you can’t turn into Leonard anymore, you have to go to Worth. Don’t get me wrong, what he’s doing is entirely logical. What annoys me is that the police and fire departments do it daily but it’s denied to the rest of us. This section of W. Broadway should be made two way to allow exactly this option for all motorists and it could be accomplished very easily by either moving the stop line for southbound W. Broadway traffic back to the other side of N. Moore or just making that small section of W. Broadway, open to two-way traffic.”
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Well…you knew the noise complaints were coming. That didn’t take long….
Regarding the ticket prices… I challenge the HRP Trust to reveal how much they netted for the 3 days (accounting for any Trust staff services such as security and cleanup, fair-rental value of any equipment provided, etc.)
Yeah, I am dying for there to be a good, consistently open outdoor concert venue in the Western part of Lower Manhattan, but I am surprised this is even happening after the example of the Williamsburg Waterfront. After the first season, the WW moved their speakers so that they were facing out to the river, rather than toward the buildings, even though it killed the views and put the stage in a much less desirable position. The next season they moved the whole shebang a few blocks away to a somewhat less residential area. There are still complaints every year, of course. If Williamsburg can’t handle events like this without freaking out, it is hard to believe that Tribeca can.
What? A brand new source of noise complaints? “Sounds” like the HRPT just “improved the district.” Can’t wait until we get to pay for it in a brand new HRP-NID Tax. I am sure the Board of Tax Collectors at HRP are redrawing the lines of the NID to encompass how far the sound of the bass traveled East. Just think of the quality of speakers they’ll be able to rent! Bring DA NOIZE! WOMP! WOMP! WOMP! WOOOOOMMP!!
Suggestion – At the next event, The Friends of HRP should set-up a merchandise kiosk with “Save the Park”-branded t-shirts, temporary tattoos and sunscreen applicators, seems like a lot of those boys forgot to bring and/or misplaced their shirts. They should have remembered that it always gets a little chilly when the sun goes down.
We were out at the volleyball courts while the Rapture event was going on. It was very loud, but at least it ended promptly at 10pm. As it got later the lyrics became explicit so I sorta felt bad for all the families that were out playing mini golf.
Why is there any venue in Tribeca allowing this level of noise pollution, when local bars and restaurants struggle to get closings past midnight? Does Community Board 1 have any say over the pier? Perhaps they can institute decible fines for the neighborhood that would help fund our local police?
To Joel re:White Street
As a former 8 year resident of White Street I think you might want to be careful on what you wish for in this situation.
If right turn became the norm for everyone W. Broadway, then what you will end up with a huge traffic jam of huge trucks, cars heading to Holland Tunnel and more.
White Street has bigger problems such as never ending repairs due to mediocre solutions to underground water and soil movements which provide residents with overnight construction crews from ConEd, etc… Year round!
We decided to cancel our Radio LILAC! marketplace due to the weather forecast, which could not have been more wrong. But, we’re glad we did as the noise was excruciating and those who did visit the ship at Pier 25, which we opened for tours, did not stay very long. We were sort of hoping some of the crowd from Pier 26 would stop over and we hung a rainbow flag from our main mast as an invitation, but that didn’t happen either. They were strictly there for the music. The supervisor working that day says she will never work again during a concert on Pier 26. And, we have earplugs!