"They Bang Like Crazy"

[Scroll down for the latest music video… or enjoy a bit of musing and context-setting first]

In the late aughts, I lived on the Upper East Side, just as the city was starting the 2nd Avenue Subway project. By the time the real work—the demolition and the drilling—commenced, I was plotting a move south, and I was never entirely inconvenienced or bothered by the project.

Nor was I a property or business owner, so I couldn’t say, “This is awful now, but it should be great when they’re done… if I can hold out until then!”

But I remember passing inaccessible storefronts, frog-hopping sidewalks, and thinking:

“I hope these business owners are getting a break.”
“I bet the residents are going mental, but it should pay off in a year or two.”

For reference: Let’s look at Gracie Gardens Co-op, which was surely impacted by the project. A unit at 530 East 90th Street #1K was purchased on 8/16/2007 for $875,000.

On 11/20/2015, it sold for $1,085,000 — almost a 25% increase.

Now, we don’t know much about this unit or others in the co-op, and while we can compare it to its neighbors and the broader city—and be both impressed and underwhelmed—it doesn’t really matter.

It’s just a data point.

Fast forward nearly 20 years, and we’re now 8+ years into the East Side Coastal Resiliency project. How’s that going?

Here are some quotable gems from a local 10002 Facebook group:

“Last night at 3am I could feel vibration and hear noise from construction.”
“Two more nights (at least). Turn your white noise machines up to 11.”
“Why is construction going on this early on a Saturday morning?”
“Don’t let this get to you, just think about how nice everything will look soon enough.”

What are my thoughts? I’ll share those in upcoming posts — but for now, here’s my latest musical parody:

“They Bang Like Crazy,” to the tune of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”