Brutal. I could hear it loud and clear on Arbella. Feel bad for anyone who lives right there.

In Salem, hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mon. - Sat., NOT HOLIDAYS!! This Mon., Nov. 12 is a City holiday, so there should be no remediation or construction activity at Magic Muffler that day. See Salem.com:. "City offices closed in observance of Veterans' Day, Event Date: Monday, November 12, 2018 (All day)." City officials, please
assist Magic Muffler's many neighbors by enforcing our laws and issue citations and fines. We are at the beginning stages of a proposed many month-long, OVERBUILT (2 buildings @ 4 townhouses = 8 townhouses where there should be only 4 - 6!) project, and already there are problems for the general public, including increased rat sightings (around and INSIDE nearby homes and businesses) and some uncovered mounds of soil contaminated with arsenic, lead, petroleum and other toxins. Last week a few of the mounds along Cross @ Saunders lacked the required polyethylene sheet covering that is supposed to be weighted down by tires/rock/broken slabs. Meanwhile Salem has experienced a few days of heavy rains. Where is the run-off going? WE NEED GREATER CITY & STATE MONITORING OF THIS 2-LOT MAGIC MUFFLER SITE AT 106 BRIDGE STREET!!!

I’ve been told when inquiring about construction noise from the power plant and their lawn care across the street from my house that there is no city wide “work hours”. However, that I should call when I had a noise complaint and they would send someone down with a machine to capture a reading of the decibel level to see if it meets or exceeds the requirements. Give me a break! I worked construction for YEARS in Boston and there was a strict permitting process and acceptable work hours. This is the wild wild West in comparison to any other city in terms of construction. building requirements and enforcement. We can’t have all of this progress without taking care of such a vital part of moving forward.. safe work zones, permitting and respect for neighbors. I love this city but this continued behavior is a joke.

I called City Hall and they informed Christine Madore, City Councilor, and Thomas St. Pierre who is the inspector so they're aware. This construction is happening, no matter how much you protest, but if we can make sure they adhere to specific construction noise laws (or at least be reasonable), I think we'd all be happier (including me, whose bedroom window faces Magic Muffler directly).

Similar issues on Szetela Ln, whoever it is parking their equipment there regularly starts powering up at 6:30a and move things around. A few nights ago around 1am they decided to do some work, too...

And so things continue to go (downhill) in Salem .......
City Hall isn't listening.

I also e-mailed Kevin McCafferty at RyVal Homes (kevin@ryvalhomes.com) to request that he make sure this doesn't happen again. That is the company in charge of the homes that will replace Magic Muffler. I understand everyone's frustration but until everyone gets proactive instead of reactive, nothing will change.

I took 3 photos on Wed., Oct. 31 at 4:34 p.m. of a few mounds of UNCOVERED contaminated soil and/or sand located at the double lot of Magic Muffler/106 Bridge St. along its Cross @ Saunders Sts. borders. As of last week 10 documents describing contamination procedures, findings, plus legal clean-up requirements and deadlines at this site had been posted online. Go to https://mass.gov and in the Search window type "Department of Environmental Protection" (MA DEP). Under "All organizations" scroll down and select "Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup" (BWSC). Scroll down further to "Find Out About a Contaminated Property" and "Find locations and details about oil and hazardous material disposal sites in Massachusetts." Under "What would you like to do? Top tasks" select "Waste Site & Reportable Releases Look Up." A grid will appear where you only need to fill in 2 areas to receive information about the troubled Magic Muffler site. First, under "City/Town" select "Salem." Second, under "Address" type in "106 Bridge Street" and then hit "Search" to read about findings and clean-up requirements. Click on "3-0035162" under "RTN" to see a table listing "Chemicals" and amounts found at the Magic Muffler site: "arsenic, C9 thru C10 aromatic hydrocarbons, methylnaphthalene and lead." Under "Related links" click on "Supporting Documents" to see a 6-column table, which as of today, November 8, contains 6 Forms and 4 Attachments for a total of 10 documents, which you can click on to read online or download and print out regarding 106 Bridge Street clean-up activities. Call MA DEP with your questions and concerns at (617) 292-5500, hours Mon. - Fri., 8:45 a.m
- 5:00 p.m. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: IS THE COST OF SITE REMEDIATION BEING PASSED ON TO THE NEIGHBORS
-- BOTH RENTERS AND OWNERS -- IN THE FORM OF AN OVERBUILT SITE (8 TOWNHOUSES!!!) SO THAT THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER & MAGIC MUFFLER PROPERTY OWNER CAN ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST PROFIT POSSIBLE FOR THEMSELVES -- DESPITE THE COSTS OF REMEDIATION, WHICH BY LAW ARE THE "NO FAULT" RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PROPERTY OWNER/BUSINESS PROPRIETOR??? IS IT REALISTIC FOR THEM & THEIR ATTORNEY TO PUSH FOR 8 TOWNHOUSES TO BE CONSTRUCTED ON THIS SITE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT SEVERAL NEIGHBORS AND 1 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBER POINTED OUT THAT THIS CONSTITUTES OVERBUILDING, AND 4 - 6 TOWNHOUSES WOULD BE FAR MORE APPROPRIATE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD? WHERE ON BRIDGE STREET NECK -- ESPECIALLY ALONG CROSS/BRIDGE/SAUNDERS STS. WHERE THIS COMPLEX IS TO BE BUILT -- HAVE YOU SEEN SUCH A LARGE RESIDENTIAL PROJECT OF 2 BUILDINGS @ 4 TOWNHOUSES PER BUILDING = 8 TOWNHOUSES? One building will have 3 connected 3-story townhouses front Cross St. with the 4th connected townhouse wrapping around and fronting Saunders St. The other building will have 2 townhouses fronting Bridge St. with the 3rd and 4th connected 3-story townhouses wrapping around and fronting Saunders St. The drive-in entrance will be located on Saunders St. between the 2 buildings with outdoor parking in the interior courtyard for 12 vehicles ONLY in a complex which will have, according to the architect, "2 to 3 bedrooms -- mostly 3" per townhouse. The 12 parking spaces for all 8 units just meets the legal requirement of 1.5 parking spaces per unit (1.5 x 8 townhouses = 12 parking spaces). No parking is allowed along that intersection of Bridge Street, thus you can expect overflow parking by owners & visitors to end up on Saunders, Cross & Arbella Sts.
If you are for residential development, but NOT for overbuilding that represents an aberration on Bridge Street Neck, in general, and near this area of Bridge/Cross Sts., in particular, then you need to make your opinion known in writing, by phone and/or in person to the Mayor, Planning Department, Building Department, Zoning Board of Appeals, your City Councillor, etc. If you have any hope of changing what is in the works, then make yourself heard and demand answers.
I do not recall seeing any poster photos of a complex of this size at the October 23, 2018 "Bridge Street Neck Neighborhood Meeting" that was held at Carlton School and sponsored by the City of Salem Department of Planning and Community Development. That says a lot, including that the 106 Bridge Street project as currently envisioned for the Magic Muffler site is "off the charts" in terms of NOT fitting into this neighborhood. One of the invited speakers that evening was Sam Cleaves, a Senior Regional Planner at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston. He has coordinated North Shore Task Force activities and worked on the Salem Bridge Street Neck Rezoning effort At one point during the discussion Mr. Cleaves made a comment about projects tha t come to be although they don't really fit in with the neighborhood"What's up with that?"

Per City Ordinance, construction work cannot begin before 8:00 a.m. without special approvals, which have not be granted for this project at this point. If work begins earlier than 8:00 a.m., call the Salem Police non-emergency line at 978-744-1212 to report it at the time that it is occurring.

This is a reply to "J" (registered user) regarding today's Comment about Kevin McCafferty "I also e-mailed Kevin McCafferty at RyVal Homes (kevin@ryvalhomes.com) to request that he make sure this doesn't happen again. That is the company in charge of the homes that will replace Magic Muffler."

I know that Mr. McCafferty is involved in the construction at 116 Bridge St. (4 lots over from the 106 Bridge St. location of Magic Muffler) and that his crews have REPEATEDLY violated Salem's noise ordinance regarding construction at 116 Bridge, where crews have worked very loudly, disturbing the neighbors even several lots away on nearby streets, as early as 7:32 a.m., as late as 5:56 p.m., and even put in a full day of noisy construction on Mon., Oct. 8, Columbus Day Observed, IN VIOLATION OF Salem's ordinance governing construction noise, which limits construction to Mon. - Sat. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and prohibits it "at any time on Sundays or holidays." Mr. McCafferty's 116 Bridge St. crew also blasted their radio outdoors, which could be heard and disturbed residents a block away.

You can go online at Salem.com to read the City of Salem's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 22 - Noise Control, ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL, Sec. 22-2. - Noises enumerated, (5) Construction and blasting.

I do not know whether Mr. McCafferty is "in charge of the homes that will replace Magic Muffler" as "J" has stated. If he is, then he has a bad construction noise track record regarding illegal hours of operation -- despite his obligation to observe Salem's noise ordinance. I hope the City will not allow this to be repeated at the Magic Muffler site, which -- if indeed Mr. McCafferty is involved -- in comparison will be a much longer NEW CONSTRUCTION project than Mr. McCafferty's EXISTING HOME RENOVATION project (including a new dormer) at 116 Bridge.

Frankly, I have not gone past Magic Muffler today, so am confused regarding today's original construction noise complaint reported by an "Anonymous SeeClickFix user." Magic Muffler is still operating, and may be operating through the day before Thanksgiving (falling on Thurs., Nov. 22, 2018), i.e., 2 weeks from yesterday/Wed. Nov. 7. As of 8 days ago on Wed., Oct. 31, remediation had not been completed. (See the attached Oct. 31 photo of contaminated soil and/or sand that is stored along the Cross/Saunders Sts. border of the Magic Muffler site, pending removal for processing at one or more of 3 contaminated waste disposal sites in MA, NH & ME.) So is today's complained of noise that "Anonymous" attributes to the Magic Muffler site actually remediation stage noise (which has been ongoing for months), or has construction actually begun while Magic Muffler is still operating as a business?

City of Salem,could you please REOPEN this issue and "Reply" to SeeClickFix users stating whether or not the Building Dep't has already issued a construction permit for 106 Bridge and kindly CONFIRM that today's noise complaint re: the Magic Muffler site as reported by "Anonymous" stems from construction at the 106 Bridge St. Magic Muffler site that is allowed under a Building Dep't permit while Magic Muffler continues to operate its business?

Thank you.

This request was regarding early work. Per City Ordinance, construction work cannot begin before 8:00 a.m. without special approvals, which have not be granted for this project at this point. If work begins earlier than 8:00 a.m., call the Salem Police non-emergency line at 978-744-1212 to report it at the time that it is occurring.

To submit a new service request, you can click on the "Report an Issue" button in SeeClickFix.

Any way to downsize this build - to less units? Or, is it too late?
How did this pass?

For questions related to permitting and specific projects, you should call the Department of Planning and Community Development at (978) 619-5685.

Um, I really just wanted them to start construction at an appropriate time and got my answer on how to handle it. If you have issues that are different this isn't really the forum. You should be talking with Christine Madore directly.