Spring Break
Administration fields construction complaints
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 9/11/07
Posted online at 8:13 PM EST on 9/10/07
/ Last updated at 1:31 AM EST on 9/10/07
The administration said it would try to help minimize early-morning noise in the construction of the new Ridgewood residence hall following complaints by students in nearby Ziv Quad that disturbances started as early as 6 a.m.
"We have reinforced with our construction manager the issue of making sure that we avoid wherever possible the noisiest activities between seven and eight in the morning," Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman said.
Feldman said that Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 communicated student complaints of noise to him in a telephone conversation. Chrysostomos Lekkas '08, who lives in Ziv and created a Facebook group called "push back daily Ridgewood construction times," called it "ridiculous" that students would need to go to sleep at 10 p.m. to get eight hours of sleep, "considering that the college lifestyle entails working late at night."
Feldman explained that the administration had only allowed a shift in activity as long as "it's not going to impact the cost of the project or schedule [of ] the project."
Construction workers must start at 7 a.m., according to labor laws.
Additionally, if the workers started an hour later, the University would have to pay them an extra hour in the afternoon, Feldman said.
"We're told that if we were to [have workers start later], it would cost between about an additional $600 to as much as $900,000," he said. "If all of a sudden we have to add [that amount] to the cost, it's going to have to come from somewhere else."
Adhering to the construction schedule for Ridgewood is necessary, Feldman said, because the new residence hall must be ready for the start of the January 2009 semester.
"There are certainly activities where, if we delay them, even an hour in the morning, they do cause a problem," Feldman said, mentioning drilling as an example. "If that drilling doesn't take place on a fixed schedule that's been carefully laid out by the construction manager, then the drill holes aren't ready when the blasting needs to happen. We're building the future of the University here."
"We have reinforced with our construction manager the issue of making sure that we avoid wherever possible the noisiest activities between seven and eight in the morning," Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman said.
Feldman said that Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 communicated student complaints of noise to him in a telephone conversation. Chrysostomos Lekkas '08, who lives in Ziv and created a Facebook group called "push back daily Ridgewood construction times," called it "ridiculous" that students would need to go to sleep at 10 p.m. to get eight hours of sleep, "considering that the college lifestyle entails working late at night."
Feldman explained that the administration had only allowed a shift in activity as long as "it's not going to impact the cost of the project or schedule [of ] the project."
Construction workers must start at 7 a.m., according to labor laws.
Additionally, if the workers started an hour later, the University would have to pay them an extra hour in the afternoon, Feldman said.
"We're told that if we were to [have workers start later], it would cost between about an additional $600 to as much as $900,000," he said. "If all of a sudden we have to add [that amount] to the cost, it's going to have to come from somewhere else."
Adhering to the construction schedule for Ridgewood is necessary, Feldman said, because the new residence hall must be ready for the start of the January 2009 semester.
"There are certainly activities where, if we delay them, even an hour in the morning, they do cause a problem," Feldman said, mentioning drilling as an example. "If that drilling doesn't take place on a fixed schedule that's been carefully laid out by the construction manager, then the drill holes aren't ready when the blasting needs to happen. We're building the future of the University here."
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