Dear Neighbors,
As many of you have already experienced firsthand, the reconstruction work on the Crane Road Bridge has taken a noisy turn. Demolition of the second roadway has been scheduled for times that Metro-North does not run trains through the area, roughly from 2 AM to 6 AM; and will take about three to four weeks to complete.
I am very concerned about reports I am receiving about the level of noise, and the lack of notice to the residents of Old Edgemont and Greenacres. To do this kind of work, including blasting, at the dead of night, is a severe imposition on the thousands of residents in the area. To cause this kind of inconvenience in the heart of the holiday season is even worse.
Sometimes work at odd hours cannot be avoided, especially in an area with passenger railroads below; but at the very least residents need to be able to plan their lives, especially during the holidays. To that end, I have asked the Department of Public Works Commissioner to provide a specific schedule with the precise times of work, as the Department has been doing with road closures during this project; and to transmit the information as widely as possible, in an effort to provide timely notice to all residents.
I have also asked the Department of Public Works to provide all information on the noise levels they are creating, their efforts to negotiate a more resident-friendly demolition schedule with Metro North, and their noise amelioration measures. I will let you know when I receive a response.
Meanwhile, please contact me with your experiences with the work in question, so that I have an accurate idea of what is going on, and how it is affecting the neighborhoods in the area.
We all know that the bridge needs to be replaced, and that its location over the Metro North tracks makes scheduling the work a real nightmare. But the people who live in the area and pay our salaries deserve every notice, consideration and amelioration we can provide to them. I stand ready to work with DPW and all of our colleagues in government to help make that happen.
Sincerely,
|