Heard a weird, loud "howling sound" in Williamsburg? No, not the booming Con Ed Plant sound that came from Manhattan last month, but this, as related by blogger INSIJS:
The MTA's North 7th Street Fan Plant is something of a neighborhood landmark, gracing the water's edge with her charming blue brick, menacing razor wire fringe, and post-apocalypse freize lettering...About three or four times a year, however, she roars to life inexplicably, with a mighty howl - her fans whining like a monstrous vacuum cleaner that can be heard for several blocks onshore. This almost always takes place at night and lasts several hours, eventually ending in a slow, downward slide from whine to moan to fading hum like the tailing off of an old air-raid siren. And then she is silent again, for months. So when the Fan Plant cranked up a week ago and just kept going, day after day, and on through the night, we took notice.
Follow the rest of the story here. Should be high comedy when there are luxury highrises on the three blocks to the south. Get the "loud howling" to play in time with the Con Ed basso profondo directly across the river, and you've got an urban symphony.
· Unsolved Mystery: Howling Subway Fan Plant Silenced [INSIJS]