Leverett Residents Losing Sleep

Some Leverett tower and Quincy House residents have been rudely awakened in the morning this year by the sounds of construction outside their rooms.

Although the construction of an affiliated housing complex on DeWolfe St., which starts each morning around 7 a.m., is not as noisy as when building began last October, the racket has nonetheless irked some nearby residents.

"I was hoping I could sleep-in this semester since all my classes start after eleven," said Lenny Ilkhanoff '92, a Leverett F-tower resident, "but the construction wakes me up around eight. It's really annoying."

However, some residents are unperturbed by the cacophony. "It starts pretty early, but you can usually sleep through it," said Jay Kikkawa '89-'91, a Leverett tower resident.

Students said they are grateful construction is not as loud as it was last year, when workers were driving piles for the buildings. "I heard it was incredibly loud, but this year it hasn't been that bad," Kikkawa said.

Last November, the construction company acquiesced to student complaints and began their noisy work later in the morning.

"There was a time when operation was delayed to eight o'clock," said project manager Herbert W. Standke. "When we were driving in the steel sheeting, we didn't start pounding until eight."

However, although the construction company accomodated the students last November, no official agreement was ever reached to start working later.

"We have a building to build. There's not much we can do. City ordinances allow us to start work at seven," Standke said.

For some residents, the construction, which is scheduled for completion this May, provides a nice distraction from the day's work. "It's really interesting to watch," Kikkawa said.

In fact, some students have even benefitted from their early wake-up call. Leverett tower resident Janice J. Chen '93 said, "It's been a good alarm clock when I haven't woken up."