Developers, DOB love night construction, but residents not so much

City approved 99 percent of after-hours building applications in 2015

220 Central Park South and a construction site on the High Line
220 Central Park South and a construction site on the High Line

If you were awoken last night at 2 a.m. by the banging and buzzing of construction crews, you probably weren’t the only one.

The city has been strongly bullish on late night construction over the past year, approving 99 percent of all applications for overnight work in 2015.

In 2014, the total number of approved variances stood at just over 48,000. The increase this year is equal to roughly 24 percent, the New York Post reported. The city made $25.3 million on night construction applications last year, a 20 percent increase over the prior fiscal term.

Work at Vornado Realty Trust’s 220 Central Park South, for example, has proceeded near-continuously for the past two years.

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Now some residents are pushing back, along with their representatives in government.

“The system is out of whack because the permits are so routinely granted,” said City Councilman Daniel Garodnick. “It has become more like an entitlement for builders.”

A total of 3,773 noise complaints were lodged with DOB in 2015, though the agency issued only 54 violations. [NYP] – Ariel Stulberg