By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
TRIBECA — The dreaded Chambers Street water main project won’t begin for at least another month, the city said Monday.
The three-year, $24.5 million project was supposed to start in April or May of this year.
But the city Department of Design and Construction is still waiting for Comptroller John Liu to sign off on the contracts, which could take up to three months, said Craig Chin, DDC spokesman. Chin said jackhammers could hit the busy east-west thoroughfare as soon as the end of June or as late as August.
Once Liu gives the project the green light, “We’re pretty much set to go,” Chin said.
In addition to replacing a water main built in the 1880s, the city will also upgrade utilities and improve the streetscape.
The first phase of the project will tear up Chambers Street between West Street and West Broadway, restricting that two-block segment to just one lane of westbound traffic on the ordinarily two-way street. Once the first phase is complete, the work will shift to the east, narrowing Chambers between West Broadway and Broadway.
Business owners and residents are concerned about the noise and inconveniences the project will bring, especially after seeing the impact of a similar project on Fulton Street.
Tommassino Acappella, co-owner of Acappella Restaurant on Chambers Street, is worried about water shutoffs, which could prevent him from serving food. After meeting with city officials recently, Acappella hopes the contractors will work with him to allow the restaurant to stay open as much as possible.
“It will affect us,” Acappella said. “But I think we can get through this.”
Small businesses on Chambers Street will be able to apply for grants of up to $25,000 from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
