Hudson Yards dwellers should brace for major construction into the future

Hudson Yards bills itself as the New York neighborhood of tomorrow, and while that’s meant to evoke visions of a high tech city unto itself, the truth of it is—among many other truths of the area—that it is a city of tomorrow, just not in the ways it might like to be. The west side neighborhood will be a hotbed of construction for at least the next half-decade, a thorn in the side of all those who might want to live, work, and eat in the area.

A whopping 98 percent of listings in the neighborhood are within 525 feet—or roughly one city block—of construction, city data and listings website Localize.city found in a recent study. About one in four condos are within 160 feet, or the width of a football field, of a construction site. And that construction will keep coming as developers Related Companies and Oxford Property Group finish up the project’s first phase and move onto the second, the western yard, which will include 6.22 million square feet of office, residential, retail, and school space.

“Much of the eastern yards, around the shops, Vessel and The Shed cultural center, near 10th Avenue, are complete, but the area still feels very much like it’s under construction,” Localize.city lead urban planner Doneliza Joaquin said. “Whether you’re living in a high-end penthouse with noise-quieting windows or working in one of the fancy new buildings, you might experience construction-related woes like noise or detours for the next few years.”

And it isn’t only on Related and Oxford’s property where work is ongoing; neighboring developments like Brookfield’s Manhattan West are also in the midst of major construction and renovation that may inconvenience neighbors. At both Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, the Department of Buildings permitted after-hours construction on nearly every day of 2016, Localize.city found.

Anyone considering living in Hudson Yards should be willing to put up with the inconvenience of such construction, and a few other unexpected annoyances. Although it’s among the newest subway stations in the city, the 34th Street/Hudson Yards No. 7 station mechanics are frequently bungled. According to the MTA’s website, two of the station’s elevators were out of service from June 26 to July 1. Another of its elevators will be out of commission most of the day today. (Granted, a startling majority of the city’s subway stations are not ADA compliant.)

Like living in most neighborhoods in the city, the cons must be weighed with the pros. If living among construction for the next several years isn’t a deal breaker, then happy apartment hunting.