Town's DPW Neighbors Need Help on Noise

The residents of Syosset's Southwood Circle neighborhood and the Town of Oyster Bay have been neighbors since the time the development was built in the 1950s.

But for the past five years, those residents have been asking for relief from what they say are annoying noises associated with the sprawling town complex south of the Long Island Expressway.

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On Tuesday, the town heard the latest plea from Stephen Meyers, a member of the Southwood Circle Association, which represents about 600 homeowners north of the town's complex stretching to Jericho Turnpike. The neighborhood is bordered roughly by South Oyster Bay Road to the east and the LIRR tracks to the west. (see map)

"We do endure a large amount of noise from the DPW yards," Meyers said, recounting the sounds of construction to the, at times, incessant beeping sounds emitted from backing-up heavy equipment.

"We have learned to live with it," said Meyers. "But we'd like some help from the town."

Supervisor John Venditto said the town is willing to examine the issue and see what efforts are practical to mitigate the noise.

Venditto asked Hal Mayer, the town's environmental consultant, to examine some of the possibilities.

According to Meyers, they include:

• Building a retaining wall around a portion of the town's DPW property, similar to the sound walls lining the Long Island Expressway.
• Building a less-expensive earthen berm around the site.
• Using even simpler methods to mitigate noise from the site, including moving construction and tree mulching operations to the far (southern) end of the property and using a flagman to assist heavy-equipment operators when backing up. (Federal law says the beeping sound can be turned off when a flagman is present.)

Mayer said "we're in total agreement in spirit," with the residents' requests and would report back to the board.