BLAME the extra sirens, cars or just people, but many New York streets are noisier than they’ve been in decades, according to experts.
Residents seem to agree. In 2006, for example, 285,681 noise complaints were lodged on the city’s 311 line. That was the most since the line was established four years ago, according to the mayor’s office, which last July revised the noise code to tackle the problem.
City developers are trying to respond to the issue from their end, too.
EVERY summer, hundreds of thousands of people visit Woods Hole, Mass., a Cape Cod port town with secluded beaches, warm Gulf Stream waters, prime fishing and a charming main street. Typical length of stay: about half an hour.
Some (the ones who race into town, tires screeching, lurch to a stop and jump out of their cars in a panic) are gone in five minutes.
It’s not that lovers of summer are recoiling from Woods Hole — house prices there now average $700,000, and one opulent place on the water sold last year for more than $10 million. It’s simply that most people are on the way to the pricier, higher-cachet Martha’s Vineyard. Woods Hole is where they park the car and catch the ferry.
As a Business Steps Up, a Group Takes Steps to Preserve a Landmark
FOR decades, northbound travelers on Interstate 95 knew they had arrived in New Haven when they spotted the Pirelli building on the left-hand side. With its five-story upper tower improbably supported by two slender shafts — like a piece of wedding cake on toothpicks — the Marcel Breuer creation has become an odd if distinctive symbol of the Elm City, especially for those just passing through.