Wed 14 Oct 2009
Noise Pollution: An Intruder on the Historical South Street Seaport Neighborhood
Posted by sophling under Financial District / South St Seaport, Uncategorized
[2] Comments
By Sophia Ling
Hammering sounds of noise pollution inflict tourists and residents in the peaceful environment of the South Street Seaport neighborhood on a daily basis. The constant flying overhead of helicopters, the obnoxious wailings of police sirens, the swooshing sounds of highway traffic, the humming engine sounds of trucks and buses, and the loud banging of metal out on the pier are the sources of the obtrusive bedlam in the area.
The South Street Seaport Museum and the New York Water Taxi Company employees express their feelings and concerns of the negative effects of noise pollution on the area through interviews. They mostly acknowledge that the noise is meddlesome, but they feel that no practical, feasible solutions to the problem exist.
“I’ve been here so long,” says Deny Hernandez, a South Street Seaport Museum employee, “that the noise does not bother me anymore. Everything, including the construction, is a part of the city.”
According to Deny, who works as the receptionist at the Walter Lord Gallery on Water Street, “helicopters fly overhead near the pier roughly every five to ten minutes.”
As for the construction work, since the gallery is located further away from the pier, he does not recall how long ago it actually began. “Honestly,” Deny says, “I notice the helicopter sounds more often than I pay attention to the construction noise. However, I would say that construction on the pier takes place more often during the week than on weekends.”
“On another note,” Deny mentions, “I thought that I would suggest that on this side of the neighborhood, which is located in closer proximity to the Financial District, police sirens are more of a nuisance. Almost every five to ten minutes, a police siren penetrates the air – like right now. Additionally, there is excessive car honking.”
Reynaldo Cruz, a college student who attends Lehman College, majors in accounting, and works after five on Friday evenings and full time on Saturdays and Sundays for the water taxi boat company, offers a different perspective on the effects of noise pollution in the area. Whereas previously Deny describes noise pollution in the part of the neighborhood that is located closer to the Financial District, Reynaldo discusses the effects of noise pollution from a different angle: the business aspect, as is witnessed on the pier.
Since he has worked in the ticket booth for quite a while, Reynaldo has become accustomed to the helicopter noise. After broaching the matter of how a helicopter flies overhead every hour or so, Reynaldo says, “Personally neither my colleagues, myself, nor the tourists at the port are affected by the helicopter noise. If anything, the helicopter’s appearance attracts tourists to the businesses in the area.”
Reynaldo is able to provide a time frame for how long construction on Pier 13 has been going on for. According to him, “Construction on the new pier has been in effect since about April.”
Being that he is an employee of the water taxi boat company, and that he is situated in his booth for most of the day, Reynaldo finds the noise bothersome, for it makes communication with his customers extremely difficult. He says, “Personally the noise annoys me and it makes it a bit difficult to communicate with my customers with all the excessive noise in the background.”
Additionally, Reynaldo adds that the construction noise hinders the smooth progression of business. He says, “Customers are annoyed as well when they cannot hear me explain my company’s tours due to the overbearing noise. Construction begins daily at 10 AM and continues on until 3 PM, with the noise being the most persistent at noon.”
When asked if he feels that the FDR drive on top adds to the noise pollution, Reynaldo replies that he does not think it is a problem at all. According to him, traffic almost always runs smoothly – except on rainy days and during rush hours.
Reynaldo does not feel that the highway noise impedes on the historical feel of the neighborhood in any way. According to him, “Quite the opposite is true. The FDR Drive is itself a historical piece, and there is no need to make alterations or regulations to its location or service.”
Neer Abdelrehim is a hot-dog vendor who sets up business under the FDR drive and has worked there for six years. He is personally bothered by the construction noise the most. “To me,” says Neer, “the city is just dragging out the project. I do not know what is taking so long.” “However,” he says, “the construction of a new pier will attract more tourists to the seaport and will boost business sales.”
Joan Thompson, the executive director of the civilian complaint review board, says that noise pollution in the area accounts for most of the complaints that residents/ businesses in that area file online. “As of right now,” she says, “regarding the construction noise in the South Street Seaport neighborhood, the most that the City can do is mandate that most of the construction be done on weekends.” According to her, “Another solution would be to speed up the construction project so that it gets completed faster.”
Noise pollution will be a never-ending problem in the South Street Seaport neighborhood. If the city were to successfully alleviate the amount of construction noise that is currently going on, there would also be the helicopter noise. Being that there are a few heliports in the city, it would be difficult to prevent helicopters from taking off and landing.
I thought that this was a wonderful piece. I believe that noise pollution is not something that is reported on as much because people become accustomed to it from years of living in the city. I really liked your sources because the vast majority were people who were in the area a lot so I think that proximity makes them credible.
I personally liked the structure of your article, but I’m not sure that it is what Professor Gruber is looking for. In your article, you let the sources tell the story and you, as the writer, only filled in biographical facts and overall conclusions. I think it’s very creative. However, I think that Professor Gruber is looking more for a “newspaper article type” piece, where the writer tells the majority of the story and then, uses sources merely to support his or her own arguments. I would encourage you to take note of Professor Gruber’s comments. If he’s fine with the format, then don’t change a thing because it’s an awesome piece.
Your lede contained all the elements it is supposed to have and was a great start to your article. It painted a very realistic picture for the reader and makes them feel like they are actually in the South Street Seaport neighborhood. I know, from being in the city everyday, that the noise is very annoying. However, I agree with Deny Hernandez that it is apart of the city. I thought that your use of that quote was great because many other inhabitants of the city will agree that it is one of the many things that make our city special.
One thing that I would do differently is move the source with the most credentials and authority to the top. In this case, I got the feeling that Joan Thompson, the executive director of the civilian complaint review board, is the most liable source. Also, I think that it is important to mention that the noise problem is not only prevalent in the South Street Seaport area, but in the whole city.