UWS Condo Trying to Keep Construction from Bringing the Noise

Nov. 21, 2014 — It looks like construction is set to begin in early 2015 in an empty parking lot on West 97th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues — what will be home to the Jewish Home Lifecare (JHL), a 20-story nursing home. Years of pushback from residents of Park West Village, a condominium complex made up of seven buildings between 97th and 100th streets, with backing from a nearby school and elected officials, resulted in disappointment late last week, when the New York State Department of Health gave the nursing home the green light it's been waiting for. There are caveats, reports DNAInfo, which include putting up a temporary sound barrier, limiting noisy construction during yearly state testing and taking measures to ensure lead-laden dust doesn't spread to the surrounding area. The JHL says that's more than enough to assuage everyone's concerns. Park West Village residents and P.S. 163 parents say it's not enough. And City Councilman Mark Levine says it's not over. "Our fight continues in the legal and legislative arena to protect the community from this harmful project," he told DNAInfo.