By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — A church construction project that neighbors said was creating an unholy disturbance on their block failed a recent Department of Buildings audit.
DOB inspectors threatened to revoke Redeemer Presbyterian Church's construction permits earlier this month after they discovered the church was planning to build a 16-foot wall around heating and air conditioning equipment on its roof.
Building the wall atop the building would be illegal because the structure was already at the maximum height allowed under city code, a DOB spokeswoman said.
Redeemer responded to the audit, so the permits will remain in place, the spokeswoman said.
Inspectors also faulted Redeemer for not specifying the capacity of an outdoor terrace on construction plans, which was a "paperwork issue," a DOB spokeswoman said.
"They just need to indicate on their plans that they will not have more than 74 people on the terrace," DOB spokeswoman Jennifer Gilbert said.
Redeemer is building a new worship and community center on West 83rd Street. Neighbors in a coop building behind the construction site say the new structure is bigger than the church originally told the community it was building.
DOB conducted the audit in response to neighbors' concerns.
Neighbors have also complained about the proximity of the outdoor terrace to their bedroom windows, and the noise that will be generated by the heating and cooling equipment on the roof.
Neighbors hired an acoustical engineer to review Redeemer's plans, and found that the equipment will create twice the level of noise allowed under city code.
The 16-foot wall was supposed to buffer that noise.
Now church officials say they'll collect suggestions and comments from neighbors about the noise issue before going back to DOB with new plans.
Redeemer spokesman Cregan Cooke said church officials met this week with neighbors, representatives of Community Board 7 and officials from City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's office.
"The meeting was beneficial and productive," Cooke said in an email. "We agreed to work together on several mutually agreeable solutions to address the DOB objection to the noise barrier."
