Carey Azzara says nearly every room in his Hull Street home is cracked due to blasting from the high school construction project. The crossbeams have shifted, and he estimates repairs will cost thousands of dollars.
Azzara said it's been hard coping with everyday construction, not to mention the dirt that drifts on windy days, encircling his home in a cloud so thick he won't let his dog out.
"It's been a nightmare," said Azzara, relating his experience living across from the high school construction for the past 10 months. "We have a long road ahead of us, and I am already worn out. With the meetings and time spent on lawyers and architects ... it's like having a part-time job."
Frustration is mounting among neighbors of the Newton North High School project, and Azzara isn't the only one speaking up.
Watching landscaping and roof screens get sliced in the last North cost reduction and coping with the trials of abutting construction, the Newtonville neighbors passed along their concerns in a meeting of the Newton North Liaison Committee on April 29.
Since construction began in June, John Joyce says his three children have begun using inhalers.
"The dust control has been inadequate to date," said Joyce, one of several neighbors to speak during the liaison meeting. "There have been a few occasions where we can't go outside."
But Joyce says what bothers him most is what he considers the city's lackluster handling of their complaints.
"Often I come away from (conversations with the city) feeling like I am speaking to a wall," Azzara said. "I have to complain to (the building commissioner) with a very voracious e-mail before anything happens. (Dealing with things like the dirt piles) should be something that was planned a while ago, not something I have to yell about for the fourth time."
The dirt piles, which are much larger than the approved plan called for, aren't the only thing bothering neighbors. Many were disappointed to see the landscaping budget cut in half and the roof screens (meant to hide roofing equipment) removed.
"We have had a bit of a roller coaster of emotions," said Laura Naylor, who lives on Walnut Street. "There is this lack of trust and the feeling that you have to push and push and push for things."
As a committee member, she said, "Instead of helping shape or inform decisions, we have been an information vehicle after the decision has been made. (The city) tells us about decisions after the fact."
When the city attempted to reduce the cost of the building - subsequently cutting out aspects of the project the neighbors valued - the perspectives of neighbors weren't considered.
Naylor and neighbors have also been frustrated with unfulfilled promises. Before construction crews began blasting in early winter, city representatives examined Hull Street homes for existing damage.
Homeowners say they were left with the impression that the city would pay for damage caused during blasting based on evidence of the survey.
What Naylor says the city was really doing was gathering evidence so that it could better defend itself in court. Homeowners like Azzara have hired a lawyer to negotiate payments for damages.
"We are trying to build this wonderful high school for the community," said Ward 2 Alderman Marcia Johnson, who attended the meeting. "Well, the neighbors are part of the community ... One of the disappointments has been how the neighborhood has been treated ... We (as a city) are often saying one thing and doing another."
Mayor David Cohen said he has done his best to handle neighbors' complaints.
"We know you are going to be impacted by things and we cannot react as quickly as we would like," Cohen told the Newton North neighbors. "I am sorry you have this degree of anger at us for not responding as quickly as we would like. We are trying and we will continue to try."
Chrissie Long can be reached at clong@cnc.com.
