Noisy sewer work, Atlantic Avenue demolitions coming; B2 fire still murky

The bi-monthly Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Community Update meeting June 14, held at 55 Hanson Place, addressed multiple issues, including delays in the project, a new detente with project neighbors,concerns about traffic congestion, and an explanation of how high winds caused debris to fly off the under-construction 38 Sixth Avenue building. I'll have more coverage.

Forest City Ratner spokeswoman Ashley Cotton detailed some changes in construction plans, as well as left some pending questions unanswered.

Contractors for developer Greenland Forest City Partners will soon be starting sewer work on Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton Avenues. The contractor is En-Tech.

The work involves a liner truck and a boiler truck, both of which will access select manholes and move down Pacific Street, manhole to manhole.

"The liner truck feeds a plastic liner into the manhole," Cotton said, "then the boiler truck comes along, to cure the liner." That runs 12 hours straight, and will create noise and steam. The developer does not expect street closures, but will expect some parking places to be commandeered.

The work will later proceed to Carlton Avenue after the fence there, around 535 Carlton, is pulled back.

Demolitions and foundation
Cotton said the developer is "working on pulling demo[lition] permits" for the "bump buildings," those along the south side of Atlantic Avenue bumping into the Vanderbilt Yard, from South Oxford Street to Cumberland Street.

Also, they will start doing foundation work for the future B7 building, which would be located on a deck over the railyard just west of Carlton Avenue. (The tentative, but hardly certain, start date for construction is July 2019.) "Some of that work needs to be done from street level," she said. "Thus the entire block will be bumped out into the street with construction fences."

Schedule was tentative and is not accurate today

She said the fence outside 550 Vanderbilt would move back in "weeks, not months," but the fence outside 535 Carlton Avenue "hopefully" would be moved back by fall.

What happened at B2

Cotton noted two separate incidents at the B2 modular tower (aka 461 Dean Street), including "sparks and smoke from a cable that crimped as the crane was disassembled." 

The rest of the dis-assembly was shut down, and "we're looking for a date to coordinate to take the rest of the crane down," she said.

On June 8, the Fire Department responded to a fire on the 7th floor in a single unit, she said, which was quickly put out. 

When queried, she didn't offer any explanation for the fire. (I'd bet they do know more.)

Cotton also noted that the fence along Dean Street will remain even after the crane comes down, thus constricting pedestrians, until the building gets closer to opening.

Building flaws?

Resident Robert Puca asked why the building seems to have facade panels missing and windows open, as I've pointed out.

Some facade panels, Cotton said, were "not up to what the architect designed and what we ordered... so we're getting rid of them" and getting replacements.

"I don't know why the windows are open or closed," she said.

"How could [open windows] not be a problem?" asked resident Steve Ettlinger.

"Rain does not come in my window unless it's windy like last Sunday," Cotton replied deflectingly.

Surely there's a better explanation. (One commenter on this blog suggested that it was to keep workers cool. If so, Cotton should know.)