Tag: #Construction

  • Sounds of New York

    There is a guy singing in the construction site behind our building. At least, I think he’s singing. It’s more like a deep belly “Huh!” followed by several other “huh’s.” With the construction site being a hollow cement post and lintel structure, that has yet to be filled in with walls, or pipes, or anything, so it just behaves like a big echo chamber. Every sound, hammer pounding, yell, or really terrible idea of signing, is just amplified in the neighborhood.

    When we were staying up at our friend’s house for the weekend, we slept with the windows open. Now, the house was not in the country, though it was a small town, but in a small neighborhood subdivision. Yet, for an occasional car passing by, it was very quiet out there. Nothing happening, just the sound of still.

    Last night, back in New York, we slept with the windows open. I woke up around 4am, and as I lay in bed, trying to fall back to sleep, I listened to the City. It was a quiet night, no weird honking sounds, or sirens going by, but there is a hum to the City. It’s like a white noise hum. I couldn’t place my finger on it, but it was there, just a very low humming; like a machine running automatically.

  • Construction Out the Back Window

    When I look out the back window of my apartment, I see a huge condo tower being built. Eventually, it will block my view of the City, and all I will see will be this condo tower, unless I lean out the window and look to the right, then I will be able to see other parts of New York.

    I knew this building was coming. I had watched as the lots that are occupied by this growing tower were bought, and chain linked fences were put up. Then a coming soon board went up, followed by the work permits displayed on a plywood wall. After that, a temporary worksite office was put on the sidewalk. At the start of the year, a backhoe arrived and started digging out the lot. There was a break at the end of February, after the foundation was poured. I thought that work had been stopped because of Covid, but then in August, workers came back and they haven’t stopped building.

    This is progress, right? Manhattan real estate is too valuable, right? The world is always changing, right?

    I find it odd that with so many people leaving the City, that they are moving forward with building more luxury condos, but maybe these guys know something that I don’t. Maybe they are playing the long game? Hold out long enough, and things will change in your favor. Maybe.

    But looking out my back window, it doesn’t feel like progress. It feels like an intrusion. Like an outpost is being built, and we are about to be colonized.

  • Pondering the Change Out My Window

    The lot behind our apartment is in full blow construction now. There are workers swarming all over the lot, laying rebar, pouring cement, sawing things, and having equipment dropped off. It starts right at 7am, and goes until 6pm some days. We used to have our windows, but now it is difficult to do because of the noise, and the dust being kicked up. Sadly, we know that as we live in the third floor, that this 10-story condo tower will block out the sun and even the sky from our windows. We fear that we will be looking at brick walls out of all of our widows in a year.

    Yesterday, I found myself watching all the construction from my window. There was a sort of rhythm, steady movement of people go to and coming from different areas of the worked site. Guys spray painting lines and numbers on the recently poured cement floors, people cutting 2×4’s, people removing bags of trash, and one guy with plans walking around the site.

    I am witnessing the slow destruction of my window to the world. Sometimes I feeling like I should be more upset about this, my wife certainly is, but it just feels like this is the awfulness that is progress, or capitalism. I still haven’t decided. Maybe it is a metaphor for all the change that is happening in the world. Maybe it has no meaning. Either way, it is happening.