Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Other Roosevelt Island Elected Officials Seek Explanation From Transcanada For Deafening Noise Resulting From Release Of Steam Early Monday Morning - Better Communication For Future Incidents Too

 Image Of Transcanada Big Allis Ravenwood Power Plant Across East River From Roosevelt Island

As reported in this post last Monday:

Some Roosevelt Island residents were woken up and startled early this morning at around 6 AM  by the sound of what appeared to be a loud explosion. One resident sent me this message asking:

Any idea what this deafening jet engine sound is coming from the bridge/tram area is at 6 am? Been going on for 30 min.

The NYC Office of Emergency Management discovered the source of the deafening noise:

Source of loud noise near Vernon/40th Ave, QN was pressure relief valve at Ravenswood Power Plant. No public/environmental hazard.

Commenting on the post, Riradu shares sound level measurement of the noise:

Steam is released everyday. Obviously, this morning's venting of hot steam wasn't "business as usual" at all (NY1 even mentioned a transformer might have been involved). It sounded like a jet was taking off from Ravenswood Generating Station. No kidding. The level of that noise reached 94dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level), on the West side of the island. I attached the figure measured at 6:39AM. I live on this island for 25 years and I don't remember another steam release of this intensity, at any time of the day.

In the light of some other recent events concerning the plant (and  lack of subsequent info about actual causes - I understand that too much info is not very healthy), all I can hope is that our safety is being really and seriously taken care of by all responsible factors... 

 Image From Riradu

and Mookie reports:

Those of us who live in the courtyard bldgs are constantly assaulted by noise beginning in the evening and lasting all night. Calls to 311 are useless. This a major health hazard and would definitely be classified as noise pollution. What happened Monday morning was absolutely not "harmless" as RIOC and Trans Canada describe it. It was ear shattering and terrifying. The fact that this was a planned release and they weren't required to make the surrounding communities aware that this was going to happen is insanity. It is lunacy that the OEM didn't measure decibel levels and issue fines and warnings. Think about it - ice cream trucks are under noise restrictions regarding the little tune they play and this plant can emit a noise that can be heard for miles at 5:30am and nothing is done??

I'm hoping that the dangerous noise levels Monday morning may unify RI residents to take action. I've contacted Scott Stringers office and spoken with Jennifer Ashley who seems to comprehend our plight and willing to assist in defining noise guidelines regarding time, decibel levels etc. She requested for RI residents to contact her via email to relay their experiences with noise from the plant. Her email address is jashley@manhattanbp.org Let's take this opportunity to ensure a healthy RI for everyone.

Earlier today, I received this message from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's office:

Early Monday morning a deafeningly loud noise rattled Roosevelt Islanders and was audible across the East River in Manhattan - the culprit was a steam release conducted by a Long Island City power plant.

Today Manhattan BP Stringer and other local elected officials penned a letter to Ravenswood Power Plant in Long Island City, Queens, asking that residents and representatives be notified in advance of planned pressure releases, that they be limited to daytime hours, and to strengthen accountability and communication with the community at large.

The letter, co-signed by Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, Councilmember Jessica Lappin, Assemblymember Micah Kellner and State Senator Jose Serrano was addressed to Paul Elliot, Director of Government Relations at TransCanada, the corporate owner of the Ravenswood plant. Staff members from the Borough President's office had difficulty reaching a central point of contact in the New York area for the company, which is based out of Calgary in Canada.

The Ravenswood power plant is a 2,480 megawatt plant that consists of multiple steam turbine units. Roosevelt Island residents called the Borough President's Office with complaints about the noise that they feared had been an explosion.

Below is the December 7 letter referenced above sent to Transcanada's Director of Government Relations, Paul Elliot:

We write to you in response to a recent steam release conducted in the early hours of Monday, December 5th at the Ravenswood Generation Station located in Long Island City, Queens. The release of over-pressurized steam created a deafening and sustained noise heard by residents of Queens, Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, and prompted the New York Fire Department to dispatch seven fire trucks to the facility in an emergency response.

Our offices have heard from constituents on Roosevelt Island who are concerned not only about the disruption caused by this particular incident, but also about the level of noise emanating from the facility on a routine basis. One constituent has likened the noise to the persistent firing of machine gun rounds into the air.

In light of these issues, we strongly urge you to take the following steps to mitigate noise disturbances resulting from your facility operations and to improve communication processes with the surrounding community:

1. Share details of your pressure release schedule with the public so that nearby residents have a better sense of when the associated noise is likely to occur. It is unacceptable for residents in Queens, Roosevelt Island and Manhattan to be awakened in the middle of the night to unrelenting, ear-shattering sounds with no indication of the source of the noise and its public safety implications. This schedule should be shared, at a minimum, with local elected officials, the local Community Boards, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association and the Ravenswood Houses Tenants Association.

2. Limit any pressure overload release activity to daytime hours so as to minimize disturbances to the surrounding communities. If possible, activities that produce loud noise should not be conducted late at night when most residents are in their households asleep. If there are legitimate reasons why pressure overload release activity must happen overnight, we ask that local residents be given notification and explanation.

3.    Establish a local point of contact at the Ravenswood Generation Station for residents to call if they have any concerns they would like to address directly with the facility. It is our understanding that a line of communication was made in the past between the Roosevelt Island community and the KeySpan Corporation, the previous operator of the Ravenswood facility, which proved to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties. We respectfully request that such a protocol be adopted and that local elected officials, the local Community Boards, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association and the Ravenswood Houses Tenants Association be provided with the appropriate contact information.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please contact Kristen Ellis in Borough President Stringer’s office at (212) 669-7877 if you have any questions about these requests.

Stay tuned for response by Transcanada.