NEW YORK — A luxury New York high rise under development is disrupting an otherwise quiet neighborhood, not from the typical sounds of construction, but a mysterious, piercing shrieking noise.
“It’s like fingernails on a blackboard,” Dorothy Siegel, who lives a block away, told Brownstoner. “It hurts your teeth, it’s that kind of sound.”
Fortis Property Group is building a 15-story luxury tower at 347 Henry Street as part of a larger development near the water called River Park, Brownstoner reported.
The sound coming from it can be heard for several blocks.
“It’s sort of a whistling noise that crescendos into a high pitched screech,” Amanda Nichols, vice president of the Cobble Hill Association, told WABC.
Neighbors said the noises started in December. The association is working with the building’s developer to find a solution.
“People are nervous as the building gets closer and closer to being finished that this issue is still persisting,” Nichols said.
The source is still an enigma, but neighbors believe the balconies are partly to blame. The building is on a corner near the water.
“I think the wind goes through the bars and this is what makes the noise,” neighbor Stan Nerhout told WABC.
A repair in March did not fix the problem. The developer strapped boards to the railings. But they blew off within a day or two after the first strong winds.
A group of area politicians are asking officials not to sign off on a certificate of occupancy and other permits the developer needs to sell units until a repair is made to stop the sound.
“If they sell the building to condo owners then they’ll wash their hands and walk away,” Councilman Brad Lander, who represents the area, told Brownstoner. “Residents of Cobble Hill have been letting Fortis know about this for quite some time and it’s not fixed. It’s really loud and quite disturbing across a surprisingly large geography.”
The developer told WABC that it has, “identified an adjustment to the balcony railings that we believe will remediate the issue.”
Neighbors hope there is no encore.
“We’re hoping it gets fixed, that it’s a permanent fix, not just a minor reduction in noise,” Nichols said.
Cox Media Group
