Fan is silenced by pols' money

From the Daily News:

Silence is golden for noise-addled residents of Hunters Point.

Noise abatement equipment recently placed on a large fan that exhausts fumes from a nearby subway tunnel has muffled its ear-splitting racket, according to state Sen. Michael Gianaris.

“The normal street ambient noise level is around 61 decibels,” said Gianaris, who is set to discuss the reduced noise levels at a news conference on Friday. “When the fan was operating it was around 80. Now with the muffler it’s around 62. This is a huge relief.”

MTA East River ventilator, located at 50th Ave. between 5th St. and Center St. ventilates the subway tunnel under the East River and is used during periods of construction.

Residents had complained the fan’s screeching wail led to headaches and sleepless nights.

Gianaris, along with Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, cobbled together $700,000 in funds to pay for the noise abatement equipment.

Complaints about the noise have dropped dramatically, Gianaris said.

But he pointed out that it’s only one of the problems that has emerged as the Long Island City area continues to morph from a neighborhood of factories and warehouses to luxury apartments.