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Q&A
City officials respond to Council Member Restler's criticisms
2:11:22
·
153 sec
Chair Sandy Nurse asks city officials to respond to Council Member Restler's complaints. The exchange reveals ongoing communication issues and disagreements about construction permits and work hours.
- Deanna Logan from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice offers to continue conversations with Council Member Restler
- Restler reiterates his frustration with the lack of response to his meeting requests and the resumption of late-night construction without proper communication
- Eduardo de Valle from the Department of Design and Construction acknowledges the issues and claims they are working within permit constraints
- Restler disputes the interpretation of the permits, stating that loud work was promised to end earlier in the evening
Sandy Nurse
2:11:22
Do you all want to offer a response to the council member?
2:11:27
Or an acknowledgement of the community complaints?
2:11:32
Any steps you've taken?
2:11:34
As
Deanna Logan
2:11:38
council member Ressler knows, we're happy to have conversations.
2:11:42
We will continue to have the conversation and schedule.
Lincoln Restler
2:11:46
I've asked for over two weeks, the commissioners of DOB, DOT, and DDC, and city hall for a meeting to address the 5AM work, jackhammering at 5AM.
2:11:54
It was stopped for one week and then you restarted it without calling me or my office or anyone in the community, putting it out in a bulletin and just saying, tonight we're going start jackhammering until 5AM again.
2:12:03
That was how you that's your level of communication and coordination with my community.
2:12:07
On a project like this, we actually have to work together.
2:12:10
And I get If I get responses at all, it takes far too long, and they're mostly inept.
2:12:15
So I'm just incredibly disappointed with the caliber of the work that you all have done here.
2:12:19
If you think this is gonna be bad in Brooklyn, where the people wanted this, where we were supportive, just imagine what you're gonna get in the other communities that have been fighting these jails every step of the way.
2:12:29
You have mishandled this so badly that you are just entering into a total hellstorm in every other neighborhood that has been opposed to these jails.
2:12:37
I'm just I get non responses.
2:12:41
I got an email from the deputy mayor for operations this afternoon that says nothing.
2:12:45
Nothing.
2:12:46
It's like an email that's like words.
2:12:48
It's word salad.
2:12:49
That is like, of course, we're working with you, and we'll look forward to meeting in the months ahead to discuss the future of the project.
2:12:54
It's like, what are we talking about?
2:12:56
I don't even understand who is actually driving this, and who's getting anything accomplished, and who's working with me, because I'm getting no responses.
Sandy Nurse
2:13:04
Yeah.
2:13:04
DDC is here.
2:13:05
Perhaps you can speak to Eduardo, what do you got?
Eduardo de Valle
2:13:10
Hi.
2:13:10
I'm Eduardo, commissioner for DDC.
2:13:13
We do understand and sympathize with the issues that you've raised.
2:13:20
We have been trying to work with our city agencies, DOT, DOB, with regards to the permitted working hours.
2:13:32
Please understand that we are working within the constraints of the permit.
2:13:37
And knowing what those constraints are and he controls the constraints, we're working with appropriate parties.
Lincoln Restler
2:13:44
When the permits were issued, DOT promised us that only loud work would happen until nine or 10:00 at night.
2:13:49
But of course, DDC and your contractors have said that you're allowed to jackhammer until five in the morning, and you do whatever you want.
2:13:55
Yeah.