no sleep till. . .

Newsday (from the AP) reported this week that the noise caused by New York City’s construction boom is driving those of us who live and work here absolutely, positively, fucking crazy.

You’re telling me.

I just flew 3,000 miles so that I could get a good night’s sleep. (Over the last three months, the Tunnel Garage, a beautiful 1922 building that once graced my block, has been noisily jackhammered and backhoed out of existence.)

The problem with the story is that it doesn’t seem to question the idea that all of this construction is some sort of necessary evil, and that when it’s all over with, things are going to be all flowers and sausages. While I know things like the Deutsche Bank building have to come down, for the most part, I seriously wonder whom all this construction is really going to benefit.

Outside of the developers and the politicians that know them as patrons, I have a hard time believing a bunch of super-luxury high-rises and super-block entertainment and shopping complexes are going to do much for any of the City’s current residents.


(t.o.t.h. to Gawker and LZ)