Theresa Juva-Brown

tjuva@lohud.com

SOUTH NYACK – Tappan Zee Bridge construction work is again breaking allowable noise limits, the mayor claims.

Bonnie Christian said Friday the village's newly installed noise monitor at Salisbury Point recorded noise higher than 90 decibels this week.

"At one point on Thursday, the monitor recorded noise at 94 decibels and this morning the monitor reached decibels of 101.8," Christian wrote in a letter to residents.

Brian Conybeare, special adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, told Christian the project team's device, which is also on Salisbury Point property, showed noise levels below the limit.

"He said they would try to do more mitigation, but we'll see what happens," Christian told The Journal News.

She said she believes the loudest activity in recent days has been pile driving in the river.

Dan Weiller, director of media relations and communications at the New York State Thruway Authority, said the project team has diligently monitored construction noise levels, consistently finding them to be within allowable levels. The problem, he said, lies with the village.

"South Nyack officials have been well aware for months of how noise levels would be monitored, and now they are attempting to change the criteria for how sound is measured," Weiller said in a statement.

The village installed its own noise monitor last month after residents questioned whether readings from the project team's monitor were accurate. They later learned the readings were averages of noise levels over a certain period of time.

In July, sheet pile driving work along the shore was suspended when officials discovered the noise had been exceeding allowable limits for weeks. The 90-decibel standard is what Tappan Zee Constructors agreed to in its contract with the state.

The sheet pile driving work was on hold for nearly a month while TZC implemented additional measures to muffle the sound.

The day the work resumed last month, Christian announced the village had installed its own monitor, which would show moment-to-moment noise levels. The move proved to be controversial, with the Thruway Authority accusing Christian of playing politics and confusing the public. Christian denied the claim and said officials were aware of the plan.