HUDSON YARDS — Neighbors living across from the Hudson Yards construction site will no longer need to endure drilling and blasting throughout the night.
Noisy work on the Amtrak Gateway tunneling project, which will eventually allow additional trains to run between Penn Station and New Jersey, will no longer be performed 24 hours a day, according to the company managing the construction.
As DNAinfo New York first reported, neighbors living in the Ohm building said the project's 24-hour permits allowed workers to blast and hammer throughout the night, keeping them from sleeping. The noise was so bad that tenants were looking to break their leases and move out of the rental building.
Despite having all-night permits, Tutor Perini, the project's construction firm, will halt the loudest rock-breaking work between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. starting on Monday, according to The Related Companies, which is managing the project.
“Upon hearing concerns from the neighboring residents and participating in an open dialogue at the building this week, Amtrak, Tutor Perini and Related have been able to modify the schedule to cease overnight rock hammering on the Amtrak Gateway Tunnel," Related spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said in a statement.
"Beginning Monday, all necessary rock hammering will end at 10 p.m. Other activities related to the tunnel will continue on an extended hour basis.”
Due to the decrease in hammering, the project will take an extra two weeks, Related said.
At the corner of West 30th Street and 11th Avenue, Ohm sits directly across from one of the city's busiest construction sites. Along with the tunneling, Related is building a massive Hudson Yards skyscraper and a platform over the West Side Rail Yards.
While tenants celebrated their victory, some were still concerned that the loud noise would continue.
"The noise is still going on until 10:30 p.m. and starting back up at 6:30 a.m. Normal construction hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a variance," said tenant Michael Masters, 39. "I don't think this is the end of it, although this is a big step forward."
