Upper West Side Residents Call Construction Noise A 'Nightmare'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York may be the city that never sleeps, but on Monday night, some West Side residents said construction workers on their block need to take a break and give them some peace and quiet.
As CBS 2's Don Champion reported, the neighbors are fed up with the loud noise, especially early in the morning and on weekends. And they have called on the city for action.
The neighbors complained of beeping, an annoying hum, and shrill grinding that together created a nightmare they wake up to each morning near 94th Street and West End Avenue. Some of the noise was captured by a neighbor on cellphone video.
"You're supposed to wake up to a rooster or an alarm clock, and you wake up to this unbelievable infernal racket," said neighbor Michele Wucker.
Wucker recorded the videos -- one showing the noise happening at 6:43 a.m. Even worse, she said, it's happening on weekends, too.
"They yell, scream, throw metal all around; it's clanking and clunking and horrible noise every weekend," she said.
CBS 2 checked, and city records showed at least 10 noise complaints at the site in the past year. But each time, an inspector failed to find a violation.
"I feel like the complaints -- you do it just as a formality, but it really doesn't get anything done," said neighbor David Pruger. "And I haven't seen anything get better, and it seems like the same guys are doing the same trucks and making the same noise."
The contractor, Bruno Frustaci, blames the noise on dumpster contractors.
"We comply with all Department Of Buildings guidelines as far as working hours," the company president said in a statement. "We start our day at 8 and typically end it at 5. On weekends we won't perform any work without weekend variances first."
The company would not say how many variances it has gotten.
But Wucker said the nightmare she is having to wake up to should lead to changes.
"Just because it's this crazy big city doesn't mean that you give weekend permits to whoever wants it," she said.
There are fines for any contractor not adhering to time restrictions, officials said.
Department of Buildings officials declined to comment on the issue.
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