Complaints cite damage
Irish Cultural Center construction has caused excessive noise, harm to surrounding properties, neighbors say
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Since work began there in May, neighbors have complained that excavation to make way for the Irish Cultural Center construction on Abeel Street has caused excessive noise and damage to surrounding properties.
But it is not clear whether the city has issued any violations to the developers in response to those complaints. And neighbors say their complaints seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
The most recent complaint, filed July 16, alleges the excavation work at 32 Abeel St. has caused damage to the neighbor’s driveway at 42 Abeel St. and is causing further erosion to the property. It also alleges damage to the adjoining city-owned Company Hill Path due to heavy construction material being stored there.
Numerous photos provided by neighbors show the erosion of the driveway, as well as long trenches on Company Hill Path reportedly caused by water runoff.
Excavation of the Irish Cultural Center site goes directly up to the
property line at 42 Abeel St. A construction fence divides the two properties.
On Tuesday, Megan Weiss-Rowe, the city’s director of communications and community engagement, said staff from Kingston’s Building Safety Division recently visited the Irish Cultural Center site and saw a small excavator working to place stones along the property at 42 Abeel St.
“They identified a small problem in the silt fencing where runoff was flowing onto Company Hill Path,” Weiss-Rowe wrote. She said city staff spoke with Bob Carey, one of the developers, about those issues and
Building Safety’s concerns. Carey responded that he was addressing the problems, Weiss-Rowe said.
She said Carey also said he spoke with the city engineer about erosion and runoff issues, “which are being addressed with the stones that will aid in the erosion control and with the installation of a sump pump to remove the water to prevent runoff. The silt fencing issue will be repaired, which will also prevent runoff and erosion to Company Hill Path.”
Weiss-Rowe added that Carey said pallets of stone on Company Hill Path would be removed. She said Building Safety staff would follow up during the week to verify the work is done.
Carey could not be reached for comment.
Weiss-Rowe has not responded to further inquiries about whether any violations or stop-work orders had been issued to the developers. She also did not respond to questions about whether the developers had obtained a building permit to move forward with construction.
Mayor Steve Noble and Deputy Fire Chief Tom Tiano, who heads the Building Safety Division, also did not respond.
A stop-work order was issued May 21 because work was being done without prior approvals. It was lifted the next day.
In an earlier email, Weiss-Rowe said staff from the Building Safety Division had gone to the Irish Cultural Center site repeatedly and investigated “a litany
of complaints” from neighbors. She said the owners of the site were cooperative and the complaints were closed. Weiss-Rowe also said if a violation occurs, appropriate action is taken, which could range from conversations with the property owner to court action.
The July 16 complaint was filed by neighbor Hillary Harvey, who lives at 26 Abeel St. and has taken previous legal action against the city over the Irish center. She said she filed the complaint on behalf of five neighbors who contacted her repeatedly about the damage.
Deanna Baum, who owns the property at 42 Abeel St. and also has been involved in legal action against the city, called the
excavation a “blight on the Rondout” area and noted that developers excavated right up to her property line on the first day of work. She said she did not understand why that was done because plans for the center call for a driveway and other features on that part of the property.
Baum added that part of a patio that was built on her property before she purchased her home was found to encroach on the Irish Cultural Center site, so was removed by the developers. She said she was not given time to respond to a letter from an attorney about the encroachment before the portion of the patio was removed.
The remainder of the patio has also started showing stress fractures from the excavation
work, Baum said.
That is in addition to the continuing erosion of her driveway, Baum said. She said the developers initially tried to stop the erosion by putting plastic down, but water just ran under it. More recently, the developers pushed large boulders up against that side of the property, Baum said. She said the boulders are only acting as a sieve.
“I don’t even know what to do,” Baum said. She added that the excavation is close to underground power lines on her property.
The Irish Cultural Center is to be a 16,213-square-foot facility that includes a 171seat theater on its ground floor, which would be built into the hillside facing West Strand and Company Hill Path; and a 70-seat pub.