Friday, June 3, 2011

Hospital generator generating a lot of noise

From BushwickBK:

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center is causing its neighbors some pain.

The hospital parked a generator and a cooling unit on Stockholm Street last month in order to power its ailing air-conditioning system.

But nearby residents complain that the generator’s constant rattling is keeping them up at night and that its diesel fumes are causing respiratory problems.

"It’s like being in a wind tunnel or a really noisy factory floor where all the machines are roaring all at once," said Deborah Brown, a community board member, whose studio is a block away. "It is constant, ambient noise, not episodic bursts."

St. Nicholas Avenue resident Hilda Shen even filmed the generator in action and called 311 several times — which led the city to issue the hospital two violations for noise and air pollution.

And the city found further problems — the hospital was operating the generator without a permit, which earned them another violation and an Environmental Control Board hearing on June 15.

Shen is demanding that the hospital move the generator or shut it down completely.

"The noise of these machines has been enormous, and affected the sleep and health of the neighborhood," said Shen. "The machines run all the time, and the noise is inescapable."

No comments: