An annoying noise from an unknown source along this block of St. Mark's Place

February photo of St. Mark's Place looking east from Third Avenue 

From the EVG inbox... a reader writes about a loud, constant ventilation noise outside the resident's building at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (north side of the street). 

Some background: 

I'm not sure of the source of the sound; I walked around the block from St Mark's past the new building [the 9-story 1 St. Mark's Place] almost finished on 3rd Avenue and down Stuyvesant north of 2nd Avenue. From the sidewalk, I couldn't hear the noise ... 

The noise could be from the new building on 3rd Avenue but could be from one of the restaurants that line St Mark's or Stuyvesant. It's not an AC. It sounds much louder. It sounds like it's coming from the courtyard behind 11 St Mark's. It started a couple days ago. 

Our guess was from the renovations for 8-14 Stuyvesant St., where the food-hall concept Wonder is on the way.

The resident filed a noise complaint at 311. Are any nearby residents hearing this, too?

Mystery solved? Avenue A residents track down source of the incessant 'loud mechanical sound'

Updated 8:45 a.m.: The original resident who reached out about the noise last month said that this is "clearly not the issue we are dealing with." And: "We are fairly certain it's coming from mechanical equipment in the rear of the business at 171 Avenue A. We are in contact with them to hopefully get it resolved. Anyone else experiencing this can reach out at LongtimeLesRes@gmail.com.

Also: The sleuths do NOT live on Avenue A as previously reported.

------------

Late last month, a longtime East Village resident wrote in about "a loud mechanical sound" that has been driving residents along Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street a little bonkers. 

To recap the sound situation: 

Unlike most commercial AC units that cycle on and off, this sound is incessant, and it sounds like a cross between an AC unit and a refrigerator. Occasionally there is a mechanical grinding noise as well. The noise doesn't stop, is loud, and is making it impossible for us to have our windows open and is making it difficult to sleep. 

Over the weekend, some local residents who read the previous post believed that have tracked down the source of the noise — from atop 118 Avenue D in the Jacob Riis Houses at Ninth Street.

So the noise was coming from three avenues away? 

"Yes, it's crazy how this sound carries all the way over to Avenue A," one of the residents told us. 

Now to the sleuthing: 

We just kept circling around trying to find the source. We initially thought it could be coming from the East River Park construction area but when we went there, we heard it coming from inland and we just circled around, closer and closer until we found it. 

We were able to access the roof of 100 Avenue D thinking it came from there and that's where we saw the actual source — the rooftop of 118 Avenue D.

   

Now what?

"We're just not sure how to get the NYCHA to address the issue," the resident said. "We didn't contact anyone about it." (Yet!)

Given the distance from 118 Avenue D to Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street, certainly other residents must be experiencing sound issues as well — especially those who live near the Riis Houses.

Residents eager to track down the source of this 'loud mechanical sound' in the East Village

A longtime resident shares this... 

Early last week we noticed a loud mechanical sound coming somewhere from the rear of the strip of buildings on Avenue A between 10th and 11th, 10th Street between A and 1st and 11th Street between A and 1st. 

Unlike most commercial AC units that cycle on and off, this sound is incessant, and it sounds like a cross between an AC unit and a refrigerator. Occasionally there is a mechanical grinding noise as well. The noise doesn't stop, is loud, and is making it impossible for us to have our windows open and is making it difficult to sleep. 

Unfortunately, we do not have a solid idea where the noise is coming from so, we can’t contact the business or landlord responsible. If we knew where the noise was coming from, we have some ideas on how to address it.

If you are experiencing the same issue or know where the noise is coming from, please reach out to us at LongtimeLesRes@gmail.com. We can work together to hopefully get this resolved.

Addressing the 'out of control' rooftop parties in the East Village

Curbed checks in with a piece on a contentious topic in this neighborhood — "East Village Rooftop Parties Are Out of Control — Can a New Bill Change That?" 

The article looks at the ongoing problems of these rooftop ragers, where partygoers have been known to climb/leap from building to building. 

On May 22, 24-year-old Cameron Perrelli reportedly slipped and fell while climbing up from 202 Avenue A to the roof next door at 200 Avenue A. 

Her death prompted local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera to introduce a bill that would ensure enforcement agencies have easier access to phone numbers of overnight building supers or contacts and require better oversight of rooftop use and capacity. (She has already introduced Intro 1292, which would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes.)

The Curbed piece wonders how effective the new bill could be...

Rivera's newest proposal has its potential limitations, especially in the East Village, where many rooftop spaces would not require a certificate of occupancy. Under current DOB rules, only spaces that can hold 75 or more people or host events involving “excessive noise, vibration and other nuisances” need one. Smaller rooftops must meet other safety requirements, like having a code-compliant railing and exit signs, but the certificate is not required.

And there's another issue with putting an end to the rooftop parties...

Longtime East Village residents say those young renters only stay for a few years, and the constant turnover makes it harder to actually make any headway on tamping down the parties. 

"You can't really control it, because every time you get some tiny grip on the situation, there's a whole bunch of new residents," says Nicholas Peate, who lives on East 7th Street. Both Peate and [Robert] La Force are so fed up with the constant loud parties, they are thinking of moving out. 

"They market [these apartments] as a sort of a luxury frat house, that's the issue," Peate says. "So basically, they say, 'You're here, you're entitled, you're wealthy, you're white, and you can just do whatever the fuck you want.'"

Reader-submitted photos: 330 E. 6th St. (top); 100 Avenue A

 Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Neighbors address the rooftop parties at this 6th Street building 

• Department of Buildings: 202 Avenue A does not have a 'valid certificate of occupancy'

Neighbors address the rooftop parties at this 6th Street building

Some residents on Sixth Street have launched a flyer campaign to help address the rooftop ragers at 330 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Per the flyers spotted on the block...

"We are a group of tenants living on 6th Street determined to address the issue of noise disturbances occurring every weekend — crowded parties on the rooftop with blasting music and guests yelling until late night."

Apparently, these have become a Friday-through-Sunday ritual these past few months.

There's an email address to receive updates on the group's action... as well as a prompt to file a complaint with 311. 

The landlord is Centennial Properties, which is the new name of convicted felon Steve Croman's 9300 Realty. 

According to Streeteasy, units range in price from $4,100 to $7,600 for three to four bedrooms. Amenities for a few units include balconies with at least one having a private roof deck.

H/T @vanishingny 

[Updated] A look at tonight's CB3 agenda, which includes the return of The Honey Fitz

CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. The festivities start at 6:30.

Here's a look at a few of the applicants on the agenda:

---

• 20 St Mark's Place — Applicants from Ichibantei, the 7-year-old "Japanese Soul Food & Drink" bar-restaurant on 13th Street near First Avenue, are looking to open a similar-sounding concept at 20 St. Mark's Place.

This space is above the Grassroots on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue that previously housed Sounds.

According to the application (PDF) at the CB3 website, this unnamed restaurant would seat 64 during their daily hours of 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

The paperwork doesn't note if this would be a second location of Ichibantei or if they plan to move the business.

The fact that an applicant is looking to sell liquor in a space that wasn't previously licensed in a so-called Saturated Area has raised the ire of a few people on the block. While not named in the story, this application was the news hook in a St. Mark's Place Is Full-of-Bars piece in the Post yesterday.

Per the Post:

A proposal for yet another bar and restaurant at 20 St. Marks Place shows there are an astonishing 32 liquor licenses within 500 feet. And that’s before you count two more pending applications for watering holes, State Liquor Authority records show.

And...

“Stacking bars on top of bars is not a happy thought for me,” said Ian Fair who ran Sounds for many years and still lives in the building. He closed the shop in 2015 after the landlord tripled the rent.

---



• 58 E. First St. — Applicants with experience at Casa Mizcal on Orchard Street and the Black Ant on Second Avenue are looking to open a restaurant called Boticarios in the space where Esperanto Fonda lasted nine months.

The application at the CB3 website (PDF) includes a sample menu.

While they haven't yet secured the liquor license, the owners have left a note for the neighboring residents about some renovations in the restaurant...



---



• 210 Avenue A — Applicants for The Honey Fitz are making another run at Avenue A. The proprietors, James Morrissey and Ian Nolan (The Late Late on East Houston and The VNYL on Third Avenue), were looking to open in 2016 in the space that is now home to Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place. However, they held off given the uncertainty at the time surrounding the lease at Nino's.

They are proposing a bar-restaurant with hours of 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily. (I don't know if the networking space for freelancers is part of this proposal as it was for the St. Mark's Place space.)

The application (PDF) has all sorts of details about the proposed venture, including the menu. No. 210 at 13th Street is currently home to Percy's Tavern, who presumably would close if all this is OK'd.

Updated 9/17

BoweryBoogie reports that CB3 denied the application for the Honey Fitz. Per BB:

[Residents] further alleged that bringing in Morrissey with a 4am liquor license, and who has a terrible track record with VYNL and The Late Late, would only exacerbate an already saturated area. Indeed, the latter operation is considered one of the worst offenders in the district, and carries a report card of more than thirty 311 complaints. Residents on East 1st Street regularly complain about noise, which first has to travel past a clamorous Houston Street and then through First Park.

Remember, of course, that the original intent of The Late Late was an Irish gathering space that would feature “Irish gourmet food” and small poetry readings. Talk about bait-and-switch. This could be why so many turned up to speak in opposition (i.e. more than a dozen).

---

• 151 Avenue C — Studio 151, the three-year-old club from the owner of Nublu, is on the agenda for a new liquor license for the upstairs space here between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

I'm not sure what's going on with the space, which has been closed the past six months, per Studio 151's social media.
(You can find their CB3 application here.)

Neighbors have already been circulating flyers about this item...


[Photo by Steven]

The flyers cite Studio 151's "thirty year history of noise." To be fair, Studio 151 opened in July 2014. Speakeasy closed here in the spring of 2014.

Noted

An EVG reader shared this note to fellow residents from a building on Avenue A near 11th Street...

"If your apt is vibrating + noisy, please call the landlord."

So many possibilities...

Reader report: Tracking the source of 'a mid-range whining or humming noise' on 8th Street (and beyond)

[Random ConEd plant photo]

A 30-plus year resident of East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C shares the following...

Beginning approximately this summer, I noticed a noise that is very irritating and sometimes wakes me up. If I am awake when the noise is occurring, I cannot get to sleep.

The noise is difficult to describe but I will attempt: It is a mid-range whining or humming noise. It permeates everything and sounds industrial. It sounds as if someone is blowing in an empty soda bottle and then amplified 100,0000 times. Each occurrence of the noise lasts anywhere from approximately 3-10 minutes and continues on an intermittent basis (sometimes several times an hour), day and night, seven days a week.

When I open my window to get a read on where the noise is coming from, it is always from the direction of the ConEd plant. I believe that this is where this noise comes from. Over the years the ConEd plant has been the cause of many, many irritating, disturbing and dangerous noises and explosions that have plagued the neighborhood.

The noise is very disturbing. I am sure it can be heard for more than a six-block radius surrounding ConEd (if indeed it is the source).

Anyone else have similar experiences with the noise the reader describes?

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village residents ask: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOISE LAST NIGHT?

About that really loud noise around 14th Street and Avenue B last night

Con Ed apologizes for the 'inconvenience' of waking you up at 4:30 a.m.

The breaker pop heard 'round the neighborhood

Reader report: Have you heard Verizon test its emergency generator on 2nd Avenue?

Via the EVG inbox...

I live on Second Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. Verizon has been testing their emergency generator on the roof of 204 Second Ave., between 12th and 13th streets for the past year or so. The noise from the generator is incredibly loud, like the sound of a jet engine at close range.

The DEP told me that by code, the emergency generator must be tested at least once a month. The tests last an hour or more each time. There is no predictability when the testing will take place. Verizon has turned the generator on very early Sunday mornings, and sometimes in the middle of the day. On Monday, the generator came on twice, once at 5:30 in the morning, which woke us and other neighbors up, and then again around noon. Wednesday night at 7 just as we sat down for dinner, the generator went on again for about an hour.

I have taken to calling the DEP each time the generator goes on and they have offered to come to my apartment to monitor the noise level. The DEP needs to take a reading when the generator is on and when it is off to get the ambient sound level in the apartment. If there is more than a 10db difference between the two then we have a case and Verizon could be ordered to do some sound attenuation to bring the generator noise below the threshold set by code.

The DEP has been very helpful, however so far we have been unsuccessful in getting them here with a meter while the generator is running. I have taken readings on an iPhone app and have found the sound of the generator to be over 10db from the ambient noise level in our apartment.

I am wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has taken any action. Thanks for your help!

The noise is coming from the metal chimney shown here on the south side of the Verizon Building roof.

Early-morning wake-up call courtesy of alarms at PS 64

[File photo by Bobby Williams]

A few years ago, residents who live by PS 64 at 600 E. Sixth St. near Avenue B were treated to a morning wake-up call courtesy of alarms from the school.

That was January 2014. As we're hearing, the morning alarms returned several months ago. One resident said this occurs between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. "The alarm sounds and all the emergency strobe lights go on in the school, lasts for about a minute," the resident said. "This happens every every school year until there's enough complaints about it for them to get it fixed."

One resident recorded a video the other morning... you can see the strobes... the alarm doesn't come through as loudly as if you're right next door, but you get the idea...

Do you have any opinions about noise in the East Village?

[Smurf #woo circa 2010]

Then have we got a survey for you! (And you!)

Via the EVG inbox...

Dear New Yorkers:

The New York State Comptroller's Office is conducting a survey on noise in New York City neighborhoods and would like you to take the survey.

Research has demonstrated that noise can adversely impact public health. For example, noise can disturb sleep and increase stress levels.

We want to learn about your experience of noise in your community and solicit your ideas for reducing noise.

Toward that end, we are asking all community residents take the survey by March 15, 2016.

Thank you!

State Government Accountability
New York State Comptroller's Office

You may access the English version of the survey here. (The survey is also available in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.)

P.S.

Remember! If you don't like noise, then move to _______________

A question about Extell construction noise on East 14th Street

[EVG photo from September]

Extell Development's ongoing construction (and previous demolition and pile-driving) continues to make neighbors living near the site on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B unhappy. (Not sure what ever came of the Extell noise meeting back in September.)

As previously reported, Extell is putting up two 7-floor retail-residential buildings ... 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A will have 106 residential units … while, further to the east, 524 E. 14th St. will house 44 residential units.

A nearby resident writes in: "Do you have any ideas for what to do about construction noise? Seems Extell is running a generator non-stop at their site." (To power the recently arrived lights?)

The resident tried the community email address that's posted on the East 14th Street field office ...



The resident said that the email address "amusingly" doesn't work. (We tried it too, and received a bounce back.)



The phone number listed does work, with a voice-mail with instructions on leaving a message about the construction. The outgoing message says that project personnel will "continually monitor site conditions ... to ensure that there are minimal disruptions to the community. Thank you for your cooperation."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

1st activity at 500 E. 14th St. since the demolition phase, and when the standing water froze

Community meeting tonight to address construction noise at Extell's East 14th Street development sites

The monthly 9th Precinct Community Council meeting is tonight; plus 1 way to end a party

[Image via Facebook]

The 9th Precinct Community Council meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.

We heard about one topic that residents will address during tonight's meeting. According to the East Fifth Street Block Association, there have been increasing complaints from residents on Second Avenue and on the southeast side of East Sixth Street and the northeast side of East Fifth Street who "are suffering from noisy, late outdoor parties."

Specifically:

"There was one in the yard of 237 E. 5th St. on Saturday and neighbors from various abutting buildings could be seen hanging out of their window entreating the revelers to quiet down. Police were called and did not show up ... the whole thing finally was shut down when someone hosed the party down."

The meeting, which starts at 7 p.m., is at the 9th Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Community meeting tonight to address construction noise at Extell's East 14th Street development sites

The seemingly endless demolition followed by the pile-driving and excavation work on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B isn't making many neighbors happy…

Some residents are getting together this evening to discuss the situation… flyers have been posted around the site …


[Photo via an EVG reader]

Not sure who will be in attendance this evening at 6:30 at the Dias y Flores Garden on East 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The flyers say that local elected officials and DOB reps have been invited.

To recap, Extell Development is putting up two 7-floor retail-residential buildings along East 14th Street … 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A will have 106 residential units … while, further to the east, 524 E. 14th St. will house 44 residential units.

According to the DOB signage on the plywood, January 2017 is the anticipation completion date…


[Rendering of 500 E. 14th St. via RKF]


[Rendering of 524 E. 14th St. via RKF]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

1st activity at 500 E. 14th St. since the demolition phase, and when the standing water froze

Did you hear a country music jamboree Saturday night from an East 13th Street rooftop?

From the EVG inbox...

Did you happen to hear about (or hear yourself) the apparent country music jamboree that took place on a rooftop on 13th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A Saturday night around midnight?

It was all-out gawdawful, but I couldn't report it as I couldn't pinpoint the address. It was a LOUD amplified country singer who was really, really bad. People cheered after about the first 10 songs and then no more woo-ing, yet he continued. I felt bad for who ever though they were having a an awesome party. It really sucked! And it could be heard 2-3 blocks away.

The Stop the Noise sticker campaign on East 10th Street takes a new approach

On and off in the past few years (dating to June 2010), we've spotted stop the rooftop noise stickers and flyers along East 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue.

We noticed more in recent weeks… as always, pointing to presumably loud activity atop 84 E. 10th St. …



Now, the stickers have a new message...



There will likely be a different kind of noise around here soon enough. New building applications were recently filed for a 10-story, eight-unit building at the long-empty corner space on Fourth Avenue and East 10th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another flyer campaign to 'stop the rooftop noise' at 84 E. 10th St.

If you don't like construction noise, then...

From the Post today:

Sixty-two percent, or 33,533, of the complaints logged with the Department of Environmental Protection from July 1, 2014, through June 30 of this year were tied to off-hours construction or noise from equipment such as jackhammers.

Read the whole article here.

What was that?

We went to bed early… and woke up to a whole lot of emails/tweets about an explosion/boom last night after 11 that most everyone from Avenue D to Third Avenue seemed to hear… at this point, we haven't heard any plausible explanations.

And we have power. And not the first time there have been unexplained booms/explosions/jet landings.

Updated 10:04 a.m.

An EVG Facebook friend points us to this Newsweek article ... which notes: "Protesters on Twitter claimed police deployed LRAD 'sound cannons' to control crowds" during last night's Eric Garner rallies.

The 'stop the rooftop noise' signs return on East 10th Street

The signs returned here along East 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue this past weekend ... in several shapes and sizes...





We last spotted this flyer/sticker campaign in April (read that post here) ... as far as we know, the signs date back to June 2010 ... so we can celebrate four years of rooftop noise here then.

Friday night's rooftop party at Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A

Back in June, we heard from some unhappy neighbors living near the newly renovated (and now taller) 205 Avenue A — a property billed as an "East Village frat house" in ads.

For several months, neighbors said that they've had to endure various DJ-fueled rooftop parties between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

When landlord Icon Realty didn't respond to noise complaints, nearby neighbors took up the issue with the offices of Councilmember Rosie Mendez and State Sen. Brad Hoylman. The address was also a topic during June's Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting.

Any progress to note?

Yes, apparently the parties are as loud as ever, as this video that a neighbor who lives several building away shared.



Said the neighbor, "The DJ was up there with sound equipment. It wasn't a charge-at-the-door DJ party. One of the tenants is a DJ and brings his equipment up there sometimes."

The music kicked in around midnight. The neighbor shot the video at 2:05 a.m.

"Many people called 311 and the police showed up around 2:30," the neighbor said. "Not coincidentally the music ceased."

We heard that Lt. Hernandez from the 9th Precinct Community Affairs office has been in contact with Icon Reality about reworking rooftop and backyard use guidelines.

As the resident noted about Lt. Hernandez: "He's been very helpful, but as you can hear, it's still a work in progress."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your 6-bedroom dream 'frat house' awaits you in the East Village

How's life by 326-328 E. Fourth St. these days?

Icon Realty's new Avenue A 'frat house' is attracting attention