East Harlem residents say noisy generator has been ruining their sleep, giving off fumes for months
NEW YORK -- Residents in an area of East Harlem say for nearly six months they haven't been able to sleep or open their windows.
They tell CBS New York's Lisa Rozner a generator placed across the street by the city has made their lives hell, and no one's doing anything about it.
The noise from the generator is a constant for residents living on East 127th Street between Madison and Park avenues. Since May, from several stories up across the street, residents say it's the alarm clock they didn't ask for.
"It's almost 12 hours a day," East Harlem resident Jessica Magnolia said.
"We've been dealing with this terrible noise that goes above like, I don't know, 66 decibels and fumes," East Harlem resident Anita Osorio said.
"Fumes come right into our windows," neighbor Robert Anderson said.
They say the fumes smell like diesel and have killed the tree next to it.
The Department of Environmental Protection issued noise violations to Aggreko, who the city temporarily contracted to provide air conditioning for the Urban Assembly and Democracy Prep schools across the street.
Residents say the generator is also attracting rodents who are reproducing in the area. They say they've told the school, but no one has done anything about it.
The principal for the Urban Assembly school didn't respond to requests for comment.
The CEO of Democracy Prep, who shares the building, said the city controls the generator, adding in part, "There are no windows in our school. Our scholars cannot focus on their studies in overheated rooms ... whenever possible, we request that the DOE turns off the generator."
"When they are going to start the repairs on the air conditioning?" East Harlem resident Charlotte Anderson said. "Nobody's listening ... We'd like to first thank Channel 2 for at least giving us a voice."
A rep for the School Construction Authority told us the equipment is slated for removal at the start of heating season, which is on or about Oct. 15. Until then, he adds the division of school facilities will decrease the generator's hours of operation.
We did reach out to Aggreko for comment on the noise violations it received from the DEP. No one got back to us.
The local community board chair said he was waiting for confirmation that the equipment would be removed by Oct. 14, which is when the permit for it expires.
