Sound Tests Commencing
Mineola Mayor Jack Martins revealed last week that Garden City and Verizon have finally retained consultants to address the noise issue plaguing Mineola residents on 13th Avenue. Sound tests have begun, according to Garden City officials.
Both consultants will be coordinating with Mineola’s sound abatement consultant, Manhattan-based firm Lally Acoustical Consultants. Martins said that once tests are taken, results would be available at the next board meeting in August.
Mineola retained Lally in June. The company specializes in sound attenuation and abatement and according to the mayor, the company has a good track record when it comes to these types of issues.
It has been reported that the cost to retain Lally will be somewhere in the amount of $10,000. Lally Acoustical provides acoustical consulting services ranging from field-testing to acoustic and vibration review of architectural, structural, and mechanical designs. Lally specializes in environmental noise as well.
“Once we have further information and further news, I expect that by our next meeting in the beginning of August, we will have results and hopefully some solution on how to solve the problem,” Martins said.
Questions have been raised as to why all three entities didn’t hire one consultant to address the issue, rather than have three individual consultants. Martins felt that it was in the best interest of the village that it retain an exclusive consultant so that it would serve as a separate entity from the other two parties.
Furthermore, the village’s consultant would independently review the design to negate further disruption for Mineola residents. The mayor said it would be more effective for all parties to have as many experts involved as possible to come up with a solid solution to this ongoing problem.
“It’s best to have our own evaluation and have our own recommendations aside from those that may be in place from Verizon and Garden City as it’s pretty clear those who will be most impacted by any of these issues and changes are our own residents,” Martins stated. “So it certainly behooves us to have our own [consultant] and we do. We’re looking forward to Garden City and Verizon providing us with the contact information for their consultants so that they can begin working in tandem with us and come up with some alternatives, solutions and ideas to hopefully get this issue resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible.”
At the most recent Garden City Village Board of Trustees meeting on July 15, Superintendent of Buildings Michael Filippon reported that the village began testing levels. “As we speak not one, not two, but three acoustical engineering firms are conducting simultaneous tests at the Verizon site,” Filippon stated. “It started at noon today and will run through noon tomorrow [July 16]. And there’s actually going to be some activity at 1 a.m. [on July 16],” he added.
Filippon stated that following the collection of the data, the engineering firms will develop reports. Garden City mayor Robert J. Rothschild said he was glad the village of Garden City is moving forward on the issue. The next Garden City board of trustees meeting is set for Aug. 19.
With each party having its own representative, it’s more likely that the design that is finalized will not need alterations. “I do feel comfortable that we’re in good hands with [Lally] and that there shouldn’t be any problems,” Martins concluded.
Now that all three parties have consultants, who will take the lead? Sources say that Mineola will act as the overseer since the building lies on property that’s causing the problem in Garden City and Verizon built the plant.
In its ninth month of public criticism and outcry, these next few weeks are crucial for said parties. All three have pledged to get something done.
Whether or not Mineola has final say on what happens remains to be seen. It seems logical the village would have a significant hand in the solution since the Verizon plant is directly inconveniencing its residents.
(Melissa Argueta contributed to this Story)
