Residents plagued by 'screaming' noise coming from luxury Brooklyn condo
A new luxury condo is making a lot of noise in Brooklyn.
Residents of a new luxury condo building, with units selling for an estimated $1.25 - $7+ million in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighbourhood, are being pestered with a constant screeching noise. Witnesses say it's not unlike the sound of a subway grinding to a halt, and it goes on for hours and hours, all day and all night.
The noise is so loud it can be heard by residents in Brooklyn Heights, which is more than a kilometre away, The Brooklyn Eagle reports.
Reports of the high-pitched screeching began in December. After ruling out nearby construction, Cobble Hill residents determined the noise was coming from the high-rise, situated right off the water.
When high winds from the harbour hit the balconies of the upper floors, it causes the railings to vibrate, producing an unsettling noise.
It's earned the building the nickname the "whistling condo."
Fortis Property Group, which owns the building, told I Witness News it has "identified an adjustment to the balcony railings that we believe will remediate the issue."
In early March, property managers attempted a quick fix, fastening zip-tie boards to the affected balconies. But high winds quickly blew them away, launching the boards across the neighbourhood.
The Brooklyn Eagle reports the screeching isn't the only issue with the building. On March 29, a Stop Work order was issued for the site due to numerous violations, including a failure to safeguard the public, failure to provide a site safety manager, and missing street barriers, among others.
In late March, local officials wrote to the NYC Department of Buildings requesting the state's Attorney General prevent the sale and transfer of ownership of units in the building until the noise problem is resolved.
VIDEO: HEAR THE NOISE HERE
THE SCIENCE OF SCREECHING BUILDINGS
"When designing buildings, something at the top of the list should be considering a regional climate," says Weather Network meteorologist Rachel Modestino.
Westerly and northwesterly winds that come off the harbour n Brooklyn pick up speed as they move downslope and increase over the frictionless water of the upper bay.
"That is all we need for this recipe," Rachel explains.
"Picture playing an instrument. We blow air forced into a canal, and it releases a noise. That is exactly what's happening [with the building in Brooklyn], but Mother Nature is the musician, and the instrument is a 13-storey building."
