Hudson Yards construction keeps West Siders up all night

Some tenants in neighboring rental building are already looking to move because of noise

From left: 312 11th Avenue and rendering of Hudson Yards
From left: 312 11th Avenue and rendering of Hudson Yards

UPDATED, 6:07 p.m., March 27: Neighbors of the Hudson Yards megadevelopment say they are struggling to drown out the noise from 24-hour construction.

Far West Side residents of the 369-unit Ohm rental building at 312 Eleventh Avenue, which faces the 23-acre site where Related Companies plans to build a platform and skyscrapers over the West Side Rail Yards, told DNAinfo that it’s been nothing but pounding, drilling and jackhammering 24 hours a day since work began last month.

“It’s all night — I can’t get to sleep until 4 a.m. or later because the noise is so bad,” resident Michael Masters told the news site. Masters measured the noise at night from jackhammers and drilling at 90 decibels — equivalent to the amount of noise a lawnmower makes, according to reports.

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The Department of Buildings has received 10 complaints about after-hours work to date, DNAinfo reported. Despite city permits that allow for 24-hour construction, building firm Tutor Pernini has since been instructed to do the noisiest work — the rock-breaking for the project’s new Amtrak tunnel, which involves blasting and jackhammering — only between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. 

Some tenants have gone so far as to forgo earplugs or noise canceling machines and relocate. One resident, Stacy Alldredge, told DNAinfo that she has been allowed to break her lease because of the noise and is searching for a new home, however a representative of the owner told The Real Deal that the tenant’s lease had not been waived. Masters is also considering moving.

Although construction has been going on for more than a year, additional work began earlier this month on the platform that will support the 23-acre development, as previously reported[DNAinfo] — Angela Hunt