BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | The exterior demolition of the New York University Coles gym on Mercer St. — which will be replaced by a new, far-taller university building — has been underway for a few weeks.
Residents living on the Mercer St. side of the project so far had been spared the demolition’s impacts, since the work had been focused on the old gym’s western side. But on Tuesday, they said they were for the first time fully assaulted by noise, dust and debris from the project.
While N.Y.U. funded remediation renovations for buildings around the project site, including notably its own buildings at Washington Square Village, 88 Bleecker St. was largely left out of the mix. Tuesday, dust and dirt were seeping through rickety window sleeves around air conditioners at the building, residents said. Meanwhile, the construction workers were not hosing down all the dust they were causing, per N.Y.U.’s agreement with the community regarding the work.
“There’s no like dust mitigation at all,” said Marianne Edwards, who lives with her husband, Paul, in an apartment fronting on the construction site.
“N.Y.U. is not following the protocols it set forth to reduce dust,” said her husband. “We have stuff coming through our windows, even though we have double-paned windows that are sealed.”
They said they phoned the office of N.Y.U. President Andrew Hamilton twice, as well as 311, but got no response. Finally, around 3:30 p.m., when a Villager photographer showed up, a worker turned on a hose and started wetting down a pile of construction debris and rubble.
But one hose was not enough, the couple said — many more are needed!
“Just once, it would be good to see these people follow a promise without having to drag it out of them,” Paul Edwards said of the university.
Paul Edwards said it was his understanding that N.Y.U. gave the building $100,000, but that would not cover the cost of remediating all of the building’s 100 apartments, he said. N.Y.U. could still do the full job now, he added, and the residents would probably only have to be out of their apartments for one day or a few days.
The noise is also terrible, they said. She is an artist and he is a financial writer and they both work at home.
“I was home all day this morning and I was getting the full dose — not just the dust but the noise,” he said. “It’s so loud, I can’t keep two words in my mind.”
The construction hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
But an N.Y.U. spokesperson said the workers, in fact, are following all the agreements.
“N.Y.U. made specific commitments to mitigate dust — these include hosing down the site, hosing down construction vehicles, wheel washing before exiting to the street, and ensuring all debris is covered securely — and we’re implementing all of them,” the spokesperson said. “There is a laborer on the site whose full-time job is hosing things down to reduce dust. N.Y.U.’s mitigation commitments go beyond what is normally required at a construction site.
“As to 88 Bleecker…N.Y.U. was not obligated to provide noise mitigation measures because these measures — double-glaze windows and central air-conditioning — already exist in the building. That notwithstanding, as a gesture of good faith, N.Y.U. came to an agreement with 88 Bleecker to address their concerns relating to construction mitigation.”
He added that an 88 Bleecker St. resident sits on the Borough President’s Construction Committee, which was formed by Manhattan B.P. Gale Brewer, who selected community members to join it.
“The committee is a vehicle to address construction concerns and to provide a forum for the university to provide construction updates, address concerns and answer questions,” the spokesperson said. “The construction committee meets on a quarterly basis.”
The university did not say whether it would consider improving the seals around the apartment windows of 88 Bleecker St. or doing other mitigation work at the building.
However, Paul Edwards said the building’s windows predate the birth of his son 30 years ago and are overdue for repairs.
