Monday, February 3, 2025
Cloudy. High 45 degrees.
Snow fell on Sunday night. Temperatures will warm slightly again this week, but there could be rain on Thursday and Sunday.
Welcome to the first week of February. A local St. Louis reporter did a segment almost a decade ago that went viral about February being among the bleakest of months. The video begins, “February is the worst month of the year, but it’s an honest month, it’s a month that doesn’t hold up life any better than it really is.”
We don’t know if we agree with this February assessment, but if you want a laugh, you can watch below.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Sunday is the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
Upper West Side News
By Gus Saltonstall
The Upper West Side was one of the noisiest neighborhoods in New York City in 2024, according to 311 data first reported by The New York Times.
The Times sorted through the 753,222 noise complaints made in the five boroughs during the last year, and found that nearly 10 percent of them came from a single Community District in the Bronx.
The data was also sorted into the 10 neighborhoods that produced the most noise complaints from residents in 2024, and the Upper West Side’s Manhattan District 7, which includes the 10025, 10024, 10023, and 10069 ZIP codes, had the third most of any Community District in New York City.
In total, residents on the Upper West Side filed 26,369 noise complaints last year, according to 311 data.
The New York Times found something very specific to the Upper West Side’s noise complaints, though.
A staggering 14,809 of them were related to helicopter noise.
That means that on average in 2024, there were 40 noise complaints related to helicopter noise on the Upper West Side every single day.
Here were the five Community Districts with the most noise complaints in New York City last year.
- Bronx District 12 (Woodlawn + Eastchester): 73,014 noise complaints
- Manhattan District 12 (Washington Heights + Inwood): 31,982 noise complaints
- Manhattan District 7 (Upper West Side): 26,369 noise complaints
- Manhattan District 10 (Central Harlem): 24,059 noise complaints
- Brooklyn District 1 (Williamsburg + Greenpoint): 21,365 noise complaints
You can read the full story in The New York Times — HERE.
Ever want to own a townhouse within a luxury condo building? Now’s your chance at a new Upper West Side residential development.
You’ll just need $17 million.
A 42-foot-wide triplex is one of two townhouses built within a new 22-story building called The Henry at 211 West 84th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam, which is set to open in 2026.
The unit, dubbed Townhouse East, has 11 rooms with 11-to-18-foot ceilings, a library, and three levels of living space.
The concept of a townhouse within a condo building is a puzzling one, but this is how Compass real estate broker Alexa Lambert described the property to the publication Mansion Global.
“You come into the foyer and up eight to 10 steps to the ground floor. This is like a house with a stoop, but the stoop is on the inside,” Lambert told Mansion Global. “The townhouse is actually in the building, not a separate structure.”
The residents of the unit will also have access to all of the building amenities that come with the condominium portion of the development.
The development and the townhouses are designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
There are not extensive photos of the townhouses within the luxury condominium development, but you can check out renderings — HERE.
You can also read more about the new Upper West Side townhouses on the Mansion Global website.
The Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital announced last week the grand opening of the Comprehensive Health Program on the Upper West Side.
The “state-of-the-art” facility will offer extensive, personalized health assessments for early detection and prevention of diseases.
The new facility is at Mount Sinai West at 1000 Tenth Avenue.
The check-ups will include a comprehensive blood analysis, an extensive cardiovascular health assessment, gastrointestinal evaluations, prostate checks, and more. At the end of the process, the tests and images will be reviewed by specialists, and any necessary recommendations will be made for follow-up care.
“Our award-winning physicians, technologically advanced equipment, and state-of-the-art facilities ensure that each patient receives the highest quality of care and a personalized road map to best address their health needs,” says Valentin Fuster, President of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, who leads this program, in a news release.
Importantly, the Comprehensive Health Program is a self-pay bundled program and is not covered by insurance.
You can find out more — HERE.
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The screaming ambulance sirens (mainly those of Mount Sinai) that run up Amsterdam Ave throughout the day are a health hazard all their own. There is no reason for them to be as deafening as they are, when they force people on the street to plug their ears. Busy European cities use sirens that are many decibels lower. That Rosenthal, Brewer, and Hoylman-Sigal have not taken up this insidious issue of public health for their constituents is a dereliction ofduty.
What has happened to the city council proposals submitted in the last couple of years, and co-sponsored by Ms. Brewer, to address the dangerous public health hazard represented by the reckless use of ear-splitting high-frequency sirens, especially by unregulated private ambulances like Mt. Sinai’s?
I’m extremely sensitive to noise but once you’ve been in one of those ambulances with a terminally ill loved one whose vitals are dropping you may feel differently. People not getting out of the way is far more of a “heath hazard” than the sound. So instead of complaining, when you hear it, try saying a prayer or sending out healing vibes for the person inside and use hearing it as a reminder to be grateful for your own health.
But not everyone being transported by an ambulance is about to die.
Of course not. Sometimes there’s no patient inside at all and the sirens are on to help the EMTs get to the patient faster. But you don’t know so I maintain that the best thing to do is send good vibes and be grateful it’s not you.
You’re entitled to your opinion but not to presume other people’s personal experiences. I am not an advocate of eliminating sirens to alert to an emergency. What I and many, many others are advocating is for sirens that don’t deafen residents. Science will tell you that when loud sounds cause your ears to hurt, damage is being done to your hearing in real time. Noise pollution is not a mere annoyance and petty complaint— it is a public health hazard.
When did I “presume other people’s personal experiences”?! I said you MAY feel differently. And your previous comment already made clear what you’re advocating for. I still stand by what I said.
agreed. They also often go slowly on CPW with deafening sirens, or across 96th and 97th. As far as I can tell, ALL the ambulance sirens are deafening.
By average, Columbia-Presbyterian and Lenox Hill ambulances are better, far from quiet though.
truly deafening. And they aren’t barreling through red lights either, so literally no siren is needed.
YES!! Totally agree. Many times these sirens are unnecessary and overdone.
Yes, and Columbia’s dorms ae right across the street from the hospital. I am surprised they haven’t complained.
as are their stroboscoic lights—as many as 24 on some ambulances.
i sometimes think there must be a special team of marketers and purchasing agents on both sides: the sellers devising more and more ways to attach brighter lights and buyers in eager anticipation, figuring out how to justify their purpose.
and in the end, that painfully deflective pitch “we are trying to keep people safe.”
Really! Safe from what!
Meanwhile the screeching sound they make could cause all of us not only to be woken up in the middle of the night; but also turned into highly nervous maniacs as we try to calm down hearing this annoying sound so frequently. Rude and unnecessary intrusions .. Awful.
I live on West 80 Street bwt Columbus and Ams. It is so quiet …. no your very wrong …
The helicopter noise is ridiculous
Terrible….Tourists scanning the park in helicopters ..
14,809 Helicopter noise complaints. This is nothing new and has been an issue for years. It is something that falls under the jurisdiction of the FAA, a federal agency. In other words, something our local congressman could help with. Only problem is that our congressman is Jerry Nadler who is reelected again and again. I wonder how many of those affected by the noise keep voting for incompetent Jerry. Ill ask him next time he cruises through our neighborhood in his SUV
Some years ago Nadler, Vazquez and I think one other member of the House made a splash about introducing legislation to cut down on tourist helicopter and similar flights. Nothing ever came of it. Useless.
And what chance would that bill have? Zero.
Don’t hold your breath
Nadler’s focus is too national, and not enough NYC.
I am glad Jerry Nadler is bringing attention to the month of positive data we now have about the effect of congestion pricing in NYC! Faster buses and ambulances! Less traffic in bridges and tunnels! A good step.
The sirens need to be lowered.
I’d like to know how many car alarm complaints there were on the UWS. There is always one car around WEA and 83rd that goes on and on. When you call 311 the operator will say something like you’re the 10th caller. Lately, it hasn’t been sounding. I hope this isn’t a jinx.
Dont call 311. Call your local precinct directly. Have the specific location, make and model and license. They are very good about coming and they will contact the owner or disable it.
And car horns going off in the middle of the night
Sirens and Helicopters, oh my! Nadler and the rest of his collaborators a la Brewer really do not care about these issues. They only care about political hopscotching from one term to the next so long as they keep moving the paper on to the next bloated government agency.
It’s illegal to have electrified sound in the park but it’s totally legal to have the womp womp of a helicopter overhead disrupt an amplified play.
311 does not include my calls to New York State DOT region 11 and the main office of the commissioner where I complain about sirens on the West side highway because highway unit 1 in The Bronx does not enforce the speed limit.
If it’s illegal to have electrified sound in the Park then someone needs to unplug the Strawberry Fields buskers.
Ha ha tell that to the pedicabs
We are not one of the noisiest neighborhoods. We are one of whiniest neighborhoods. Everyone here gets tremendous joy in being miserable and complaining. That is why we have so many noise complaints.
If you don’t like noise, I’m sure I can find you a few acres in a suburb of Utica that will be plenty quiet.
These luxury developments are hideous.
I live on West 97th and Columbus Ave. Not only the noisiest but also the filthiest neighborhood on the UWS .
The sidewalks have dog feces and garbage everywhere. It’s really disgusting.
Our representatives do nothing to fix this horrible problem.
It’s a complete cesspool.
HELP!!!
Agree. Our neighborhood has become disgusting and dog owners are a scourge.
Our sidewalks (specifically West 79 between Amsterdam and Columbus) have become dog toilets. What ever happened to “curb your dog”? Dog owners on the whole are very self-centered.
Our building regularly cleans the sidewalk, but it is an outlier on the block. Would that all buildings, including business establishments, would be required to maintain their sidewalks.
Is a house within a condo a maisonette?
For $17 million, it’s definitely a “townhouse.”
Actually East Village and LES have huge noise issues relating to blasting music from bars all night, NYU dorm parties….
What’s the cost of the comprehensive exam at the new Mt Sinai facility? (Not covered by insurance)
Yes, story could use a bit of context? Is this a primary care “concierge” service that the hospital is using space for to bring in $$$? Who is the targeted group of patients?
January is pretty awful too.
The barking dogs are out of control. Significant amount of owners are not picking up after their dogs. Sidewalks are marked like hopscotch with feces. ‘This is a quality of life issue and a sanitary one. Can’t see it but it’s stuck to your shoes and all over your home. There is a law to be enforced.
Dog owners — all the ones we know in any event and we know quite a few of them as our dog is a social butterfly — DO pick up after our dogs! I suspect some of the worst culprits are dog walkers, especially the ones who walk 10 dogs at a time.
When is Mount Sinai going to renovate all its dilapidated buildings and clean up the sidewalks?
Halal Guys closed abruptly over the weekend. Anyone have the scoop?
It’s a shrinking chain nationally. The food isn’t good and it’s not unique any more either.
Haven’t been there in a good while but I thought it was good for the price and it always seemed busy
Musk?
If anyone has any doubt about this being the whiniest neighborhood, Exhibit One is the all-powerful issue of dog poop commandeering a discussion of neighborhood noise.
The Times study provides ZERO scientific evidence that the UWS is among the noisiest neighborhoods in the city. The Times measured complaints, not decibels. We may or may not be one of the noisiest, I can’t say. It could be that we are simply one of the crankiest.
agree; one helicopter might generate 200 complaints.
We’re probably also one of the oldest. When people get old they often (perhaps rightfully) get cranky and kvetch.
West 64th on West End avenue. The noise at two or three in the morning from the lot on West end laps is horrendous, as my bedroom window faces their office building.
Ok – maybe it’s just me being weird – I live in the west 80’s – agree that helicopter noise – boo! But those sirens? At times – they are almost symphonic (to me) – especially those (probably police cars – not ambulances or fire trucks) who choose their tone, rise and fall as they get closer – and then farther – approach a street crossing and start – then stop – then start – like the “Sounds of Silence” – those “Symphonic Sirens” are city life –
I can appreciate the noise complaints related to helicopters, both on the Upper East and West sides. When there is traffic, whether on the 59th St Bridge (no other name needed) or the FDR Drive, there can be four or five traffic helicopters hovering over the area, both on the Queens side and the Manhattan side.
Might I suggest that the city’s group responsible for air traffic limit it to a single helicopter. All the news agencies can share the financial burden of that one copter or as many needed to cover the entire city in a day. Then the copter can move about the area without worrying about hitting another news helicopter, noise is reduced, and skies are open for necessary police and other emergency copters.
I’m not trying to put the reporters out of business, but it is annoying and irresponsible for five separate reporters to be hovering traffic congested roadway.
Last year I was unemployed for a few months and spent a lot of time at home, day and night. I did not find the noise anything to complain about. And I hate noise. Now that I’m staying in suburban Queens (temporarily I hope!) I’m dying to get back to the wonderful UWS I love so much. Anybody got a room for rent? With rising prices for everything on the horizon, perhaps you could use a little rental income? Just don’t fleece me, lol.
my apartment overlooks Columbus Avenue. since the congestion pricing went into effect i’ve noticed much less noise attributable to traffic, meaning sirens and horns as well as start and stop.
i’m guessing that less traffic means less need for sirens.
Sadly, the UWS has become one of the loudest neighborhoods in NYC and helicopter noise has become a leading reason for complaints. Sightseeing choppers from NYC’s own Downtown Manhattan Heliport host 30,000 tourist helicopters annually and they fly Mondays- Saturdays up and down the Hudson River. Combined with sightseeing helicopters from NJ (their flight paths include circles around Central Park) and commuter flights such as Blade, all these nonessential helicopters have turned that beautiful waterway into a “Hellish Helicopter Highway” – disturbing people in their homes throughout the length of their flight paths from the South Street Seaport all the way up to Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx (as well as ruining park going experiences from Battery Park, Hudson River Park, Riverside Park, and the Cloisters)! These nonessential helicopters should be banned and only essential helicopters (such as medical, governmental and media) should be allowed. The nonprofit Stop the Chop NY/NJ and its new sister org Stop the Chop NY/NJ Advocacy Fund were formed to end this helicopter plague in the NY metro area. Sign the petitions, follow on social media, and sign up for the newsletters to help, donate, stay informed. Exposure to noise pollution is a proven health risk, and additionally these helicopters are adding unnecessary pollutants and carbon into our air (some helicopters still even use leaded fuel!). One helicopter is equal to at least 40 cars on the road! There is no sane reason to allow tourists to sightsee via helicopter over the most densely populated city and airspace – it is dangerous, excessively noisy, and needlessly polluting. Similarly, no one should be commuting to the airports, Hamptons, and elsewhere via helicopter as we now are experiencing myriad climate catastrophes caused by increased greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. UWSiders (and residents throughout our metro area) are the ones who suffer while these polluting, unnecessary businesses externalize their dangerous costs to the public. It is time we pass common-sense legislation pending at the NYC, NY, and NJ State legislatures and have federal legislation reintroduced and signed into law to finally solve this long-standing and worsening environmental, Quality of Life, safety, and health issues all caused by these nonessential helicopters. Join Stop the Chop NY/NJ’s cause!
[…] In the name of immersion journalism, I found myself standing on the small island at the intersection of Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and West 71st Street, where you’re left dizzy from trying to track all the moving chaos coming at you from every angle. Never stake your neck on the green light. I chose this intersection to hear the sound of our existence in one of the noisiest neighborhoods in all of New York City. […]