Official notes from January and March Quality of Life meetings finally posted; mostly accurate, but in some cases downplay neighbors' concerns

Well, the timing is just a bit suspicious.

As I wrote 5/11/22, reporting on the most recent Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting, the official meeting notes from the previous two bi-monthly meetings had not been made available on the website of Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversee/shepherds the project.

  

ESD's Tobi Jaiyesimi said they were "currently under review by the project team to ensure the accuracy of the information that we presented and what was summarized from the previous meetings."

As I wrote, it's unclear why that review now takes so much longer than previously. It also hampers the ability of meeting attendees to see a quick official summation of the previous meeting.

And, I should add, it limits the ability to follow up on issues that might have been downplayed.

Jaiyesimi said the meeting notes should be on the ESD's project website within the next week, and indeed they were (also at bottom) ; I noticed them yesterday morning, though I hadn't checked for two days.

The notes, to me, reflect the discussion and respond to questions fairly accurately, but in some cases downplay or avoid community concerns.

January meeting

For example, in the January meeting, Greenland USA executive Scott Solish acknowledged that efforts to address a perplexing whistling sound from 38 Sixth Avenue had "not been fast enough for anyone,” given a missing part.

The notes do not convey that acknowledgement.

Also, regarding the planned middle school at the B15 tower across from the arena block, Jaiyesimi said, as I reported, their latest info was that the school would open in 2024. However, the School Construction Authority says 2025. 

The notes merely say, "There are no updates on timing of the start of the SCA’s construction activity." That doesn't address the completion date.

March meeting

At the meeting in March, Solish was asked if current construction work could start later in the morning. 

He responded that the regular shift is typically 7 am to 3 pm, and that sometimes they have “extended hours based upon current conditions.” That means regular starts at 5 am or 6 am, as I’ve noted.

In response to the neighbor's question about if “there's no way to request that they don't start at 6 am,” Jaiyesimi said, “I think Scott's response was the construction hours and permits are regulated by the Department of Buildings.”

I noted that that's a business decision by the developers. 

In the notes, the summary sounds boilerplate, with no consideration for the experience of project neighbors.

Q: "Is it possible to consider later start times for construction workers?"

A: "Hours of construction are regulated by NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) and are typically 7 AM to 3 PM. There are extended hours and after-hours variances for the Project, per approved permits from DOB."