Brooklyn Bridge late-night construction too loud for Southbridge Towers residents

Late-night construction at the Brooklyn Bridge site has been too loud for residents at the Southbridge Towers in Lower Manhattan, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told city officials last week. He wrote a letter to Janette Sadik-Khan, Department of Transportation Commissioner, asking her to intervene because the DOT has admitted in the past that the noise exceeds its own codes. He wrote that the worst noise occurs between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. when residents are trying to sleep.

Silver suggested that the city use noise-dampening devices on the heavy equipment, and also asked that the city look to install sound barriers in the apartments most affected by the construction.

A DOT spokesperson said that the department has already taken steps to mitigate the construction noise by using quieter equipment and moving noisier work to the daytime.

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The project is part of the $508 million overhaul of the Brooklyn Bridge that started last summer. Jackhammering was necessary to remove old trolley tracks underneath the roadbed and will last until the end of the year.

The contractor has regularly exceeded city noise codes by about 10 decibels, city officials admitted. [DNAinfo]