It's driving me batty, too! Probably coming from the homeless shelter the City felt like putting in the high school gymnasium.

Apparently, it's the Cambridge Rindge and Latin school flushing their ventilation in preparation for students to return. I don't know why it's so loud or why it's taking so long, but that was what I was told when I posted about this last week.

Also driving us crazy, and I did call with city noise complaint department. They looked into it and told me it was the ventilation system at CRLS as MCully mentioned above. I hope it stops too.

City Hall – DR assigned this issue to License Commission

Hello, Our department, which handles noise issues, was told that it is the ventilation system of the CRL High School flushing out the system for the return of the students. The system is cycling 24/7 per the mechanical engineers' recommendations. If we receive any additional information we will update the SeeClickFix work order.

The war memorial has been making that high pitched whistle for almost 10 years. They do not do required regular maintenance to prevent it. This has nothing to do with COVID.
I was told that we are going to continue to suffer at least until the end of the first week in September. I do not believe them as this has been going on for such a long time.
I would suggest calling the city council and the city managers office.
This is the worst it has been. It only continues to get worse. They do not fix the problem which is consistent yearly maintenance.

This sound is AWFUL and UNBEARABLE! Someone needs to attend to this immediately!!!

It is curious to see that this issue is closed? Still hearing the noise this afternoon. Must be what it feels like to have tinnitus - sooo annoying.

License Commission - AB (Noise) assigned this issue to Cambridge Public Schools

I have assigned this to The Director of Facilities at the Cambridge Public School, as Mr. Konjic will have the most up to date information.

Vedad Konjic
Director of Facilities
Cambridge Public Schools
office 617.349.6854|cell 617.201.6054 |
vkonjic@cpsd.us | www.cpsd.us

Thank you.

Thank you for reopening the case, and for looping in Cambridge Public Schools. The unnerving beeps are getting longer and more frequent today. Please understand that many of us are still working from home and after months of being at home, we all are at our wits ends. The last thing we need to hear is this annoying soul piercing sound all day at unpredictable times and frequencies. Thanks so much!

The License Commission Investigator, Tyler Bubenik, was able to get a video of the sound today at approx. 2:20 p.m. and it was sent to Mr. Vedad as well. Thank you, Andrea Boyer

Thank you Tyler (I spoke to you on the phone about this last week). We really appreciate the help.

In dealing with this problem in the past I have found Vedad Konjic completely unresponsive.
He may have changed.

Good Evening,
Vedad Konjic, the Director of Facilities Cambridge Public Schools, informed me that 4 of the boilers at the War Memorial were shut off. Please comment, via this site, if you have noticed a difference.
Thank you, Andrea Boyer (License Commission).

None! It is still on! I am writing this as it beeps away. 6:30pm, Saturday, Aug. 29. This is getting ridiculous. How is such a loud noise even allowed, several times in a day?!?

Noise is ongoing, driving me insane. Currently has been ringing for about ten minutes. My roommates and I have found this noise disturbing and disruptive. Can the city please address?!

Dear Andrea. The sound is still on: I wrote at 6:30pm and now it is 7:55pm. Please request Vedad Konjic to act immediately.

We live .3m away from CRLS, with no direct line of sight, and the noise has been horrible and continuous tonight.

I called the police about a noise complaint, and they directed me to call the school. I called the cell number listed above by license commission, and Mr. Konjic, presumably, picked up, and explained that he had a person on the roof trying to pinpoint the noise earlier today, and has technicians working on it right now -- he is waiting for a call. He hopes to have the issue resolved within an hour.

Sue the City for putting neighbors through this torture for days on end. The piercing sound is truly crazy-making for those of us confined to our homes...

Every time I call the police about this terrible noise, they deflect and ask me to call: Inspectional services OR the School Department OR the License Commission OR the CM's office. It is not our role as citizens to have to resolve these problems on our own... Plus, where does one go for help on a weekend or on a Friday after noon?

So I got curious and walked over to where the sound was coming from. It's a bit vexing due to the reflections off so many buildings, and you can hear the sound clearly at least as far as Inman Square because of the way the sound is reflected off buildings down the channel of Cambridge Street. I believe the sound is caused by some kind of resonance in one of the five tall metal exhaust stacks coming up from the point where the High School meets the War Memorial Building. (You can cup your hands around your ears and it works like a pretty accurate direction finder.)

It seems to me that all you have to do is turn off one at a time whatever source is exhausting into those five pipes and diagnose the problem. The cure may be as simple as installing a baffle in the problematic pipe in order to eliminate the resonance. It's really quite ridiculous that this problem has been allowed to continue for so long.

We had staff on the roof all morning and evening. When the noise reappeared this evening we were able to pinpoint the unit we believe is creating the noise. The unit was shut down about 30 minutesago. We will continue to have staff on the roof tomorrow morning and evening to make sure we have the correct unit shut down.
I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please let us know if it happens again.
Thank you.

Vedad Konjic

So far so good. I have not heard anything since that 3 hour bout last Saturday, but I will wait for other neighbors to confirm that. Thanks, Vedad Konjic! I hope this nonsense has permanently been resolved.

I haven't heard it yesterday or today either. Fingers crossed that the fix worked! I'll circle back here I'd I hear it again.

Thanks!

So a new high-pitched (though not as loud as the previous sound) is back in town?!?

When? Today? What time? Is it constant or not?
Thanks.

Dear Cambridge Public Schools: I am not sure if it is coming from your premises but there is a hum in the same area (like right now) and definitely at late evening/night (like last night I could hear it again around 10:30pm.) I will wait for other residents to respond before we urge you or the City to take any actions.

Hi there - the high pitched noise continues. It has been constant since this morning (I'm around 1500 Cambridge Street). That this noise has persisted is unacceptable. It is causing psychological distress and impeding my ability to work from home, as I must during this time.

Am I the only one considering legal action? This is a textbook nuisance case.

Two service companies are on site today, Wednesday 9/16, and our staff looking for the noise. We will have staff on the roof again tonight from 7 pm to 11 pm as most comments indicate that the noise occurs around 8 pm and 10 pm.
Any information you can provide is very helpful.
Thank you and I apologise for the issues this is causing.

THERE WE GO! Three hours and counting?!? I think legal action is the way to go because clearly a city and an entire school system cannot fix its cooling units!?! It is appalling that the residents have to suffer through this time and again. SHUT IT DOWN, NOW, till you figure out how to fix them.

This high-pitched noise continues. We can hear it throughout our unit when the windows are cracked, and sometimes even when they are closed, and of course on our balcony. Are we sure CRLS is the source? We live right across from CHA, and are wondering if it is perhaps something in their system.

Our units would be off after 8 pm. I heard from another user at Smith Ave and Line st about to noise but I would be very surprised that he would hear the noise so far away. I am not sure where user BorCarr from this tread lives, but I have not heard from any neighboors I heard from in August. They live Right on Cambridge Street across from CRLS and would be even more impacted.
I would assume that CHA runs 24/7 as Spaulding and Harvard Vanguard buildings might. It is possible and worth exploring. I will keep trying to make sure that is not Cambridge Public Schools building. Thank you.

I live 0.3 miles away from CRLS and 0.2 miles from the CHA. I am not sure if it is coming from the school or the hospital or the skies above. I know I am sick of it as are other residents I am sure, and would love to hear concrete answers about the source of this noise and its resolution.

the high pitched sound is not as consistent(long periods of time) but it is still consistently happening.
Why can't the city seem to fix this this very long ongoing problem?
We are told we are a first class city.
Why do we get 3rd world repairs?

I live on cambridge st. The problem with the hvac is still going on. it may not be for extended periods of time but happens pretty consistently. 5 to 10 min bursts.
sounds better but they are just as disruptive.
why can't the city fix this?
Maybe you should get the manufacturers rep involved. They could probably tell you what is being done incorrectly.

Thank you for reporting your concern to City of Cambridge via Commonwealth Connect. We have reviewed the information you provided our staff and will be investigating this issue further.