Extell’s 80-Story Tower is Causing Cherry Street to Sink, Worrying Neighbors
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250 South Street – an exercise in greed and ego on the Lower East Side waterfront – continues to worry the community. First it was the pounding of piles and the resultant tremors, then the cracking walls in nearby apartments, and even a collapsed perimeter sidewalk. Now it’s a sinking roadway.
Yup. The gradual dip of Cherry Street behind the Extell project site – some two to three inches by our measurement – calls into question the whole viability of dropping an eighty-story tower here. Of course, neighbors living in the vicinity are understandably concerned by this latest development.
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Just head over to see for yourself. There are several cracks and depressions, each with a band aid of sorts (asphalt plug or the like). Measurement meters are also painted on the street. Blame the ongoing excavation activity. Since the crew has been pumping groundwater from the site nonstop since April, sinking pavement is the purported byproduct. According to the Geotechnical Investigation Report we obtained for 250 South Street, workers are digging 8 to 15 feet below the sidewalk for the basement, plus an additional 3 to 12 feet for the pile caps. So, we’re looking at a depth of roughly 7 to 17 feet below the groundwater level, per the documents. So, there’s lots to pump.
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“We are worried about the sinking of this street and how this might affect the entire area especially considering the plaza sidewalk damage,” a local tells us. And it’ll only get worse. There are at least another four years of work before this phallus comes to life.
Extell top brass and politicians are visibly mum on the matter.
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It’s also worth mentioning that the two towers sit directly in a FEMA-designated flood zone considered high risk. Risky for both flooding and waves.
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