Residents of the , , according to resident Sherwood Chorost, want to make it clear that they are not anti-bridge but anti-ambivalence. They do not intend to sit quietly while the bridge gets its fast-track right into their backyards.
A letter that went out from the Board of Managers from the Quay Condominiums stated, “The residents of the Quay do not want to stop the bridge or progress. We are looking for fairness.”
The association of residents has invited community leaders and elected officials, including Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner and others, to a special meeting Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Quay clubhouse. “We want to open a discussion on how the concerns of this community regarding noise and air quality during and after the construction can be addressed through mitigation or other means.”
In the end, resident Tracy Ardanowski, who is raising a, now eight-year-old, child here with her husband Roger, said some kind of financial compensation would “ultimately help a lot” the residents who are otherwise powerless in the face of this project and can't move in this economy. “We're going to have to ride it out,” she said. "There's definitely a phobia of anyone wanting to purchase here at this point.”
The Ardanowski's unit is not riverfront but abutting the state police barracks, which itself may be compromised and taken out by the bridge, making their residence among the “more vulnerable.” She is worried about “everything: the noise, the pollution... The traffic is unbearable here to begin with. Making a left-hand turn out of our complex is already a major feat in itself.”
Ardanowski also works from home most weekdays which will pose a challenge when the construction is happening out her window. "I’m an editor by trade," she said, "so I don’t look forward to hearing all the disruption while I’m working. I’m on the phone the bulk of the day, so all of the intervals of blasting will likely be a challenge, as well as venturing over the bridge [to her office in New Jersey] once things go full-throttle."
Ardanowski said that in the decade they've been there, the population of the complex has shifted some and become more family-friendly. There are young families, and there are many grandchildren visiting their grandparents. “In the summertime, it's definitely active with the pool," she said. "Is it going to be healthy with all the blasting going on and god-knows-what being sent into the atmosphere?”
“I can only imagine what all that work will bring,” Ardanowski said. “The biggest thing [to come of this meeting] is for everyone to recognize that the depiction of a 'minor' inconvenience and impact that is 'minimal' is really misunderstanding that we are truly going to be impacted in multiple ways. To take a hit on a complex that's always had a strong value is incredibly disheartening.”
The letter matches this sentiment and holds high hopes for the meeting: “We are confident that those who attend this meeting will agree that homeowners who invested their life's savings should not have to worry about losing out when the bridge is built.”
The meeting will be held at the Quay Clubhouse at 8:00 pm, March 22. For further info please call Alice Goldberg, President, Board of Managers at 914-524-0349.
