PA offering residents affected by Bayonne Bridge noise hotel vouchers, window replacement

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Increased noise mitigation and reporting measures are under way as the Bayonne Bridge project continues, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says -- including a soon-to-be-opened community-based office to field questions and complaints, in addition to the exiting hotline.

The PA has also begun mailing out window replacement offers of up to $10,000, along with overnight hotel vouchers to homeowners.

But not all Elm Park residents have received the offers -- and others complain of ongoing noise disturbing their sleep and rattling windows.

"It's very, very loud," said Ines Bratcher, a John Street resident and member of the Elm Park Civic Association. "Day, evening, nighttime, it sounds like 50 dump trucks dumping, boom, boom, boom."

Construction work to raise the roadbed of the Bayonne, a multi-year project to build a deck over the existing bridge, goes on during the day -- and at night: the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

But PA spokesman Chris Valens said night and overnight work is primarily done on the bridge span itself, over the water, to reduce noise on land.

And not every homeowner has a problem with the noise.

"It's New York City," said John Street resident Janet Rosa with a shrug. "It's not a lot of noise. The kids playing in the street make more noise."

Valens said beginning in March, the PA began "providing residents in the construction zones adjacent to the bridge with window replacement application packages ... and the option to stay at a local hotel when construction activity is near their residence."

Valens said residents living in "Zone 1," adjacent to the bridge, are eligible to receive up to $10,000 for licensed contractor estimates for noise-reduction windows and up to $5,000 if a "Zone 2" house is a block behind the bridge.

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PA offering residents affected by Bayonne Bridge noise hotel vouchers, window replacement