Sandy Berger, a neighbor of IHOP, continues her journal chronicling the sights, sounds and smells of the restaurant that has outraged her and others in her building for the better part of a year. In today’s installment, Ms. Berger reveals the name of the committee they’ve formed to fight the “International House of Putrid Odors.”
Monday, August 13, 2012
I stopped in at IHOP and asked to speak to Ed Scannapieco, the owner of the franchise. I was told by the day manager he wasn’t there. I gave her my telephone number and said I would appreciate hearing from him. I was just trying to find out what was going on. Naturally, I never heard from him, which is bothersome since he has said, “We want to be a good neighbor.” But I guess that doesn’t include talking to his neighbors!
Sandy Berger Tuesday, August 14, 2012
We have an official name for our committee, which is N.O.I.S.E. (Neighbors of IHOP Say Enough) and we welcome anyone who wants to join us in trying to stop the spread of this franchise in New York City. There is already a plan for hiring staff at their next location in the city, though they don’t specify where. We are collecting petitions to go with letters to Borough President Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and Councilwoman Rosie Mendez. I’m planning to attend a workshop at the Marriott Hotel on August 22 on community noise. I’m hoping we get to ask questions of the panel, which includes Gerry Keplin, the director of the Air and Noise Enforcement and Policy Unit with the Department of Environmental Protection.
Stephen Rex BrownWednesday, August 15, 2012
There were two men working on the ventilator unit this morning. First, they took off the black piece that was on top of the blue part of the unit and replaced it with something twice as big with the opening facing our building. The next time I looked they had turned it around with the opening facing the IHOP building, which makes me wonder if these are professional acoustical engineers — what the D.E.P. told them they should hire — or just pickup help.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post referred to the ventilator unit as a smog hog. Representatives of Smog-Hog say they did not manufacture the unit, so the brand name has been removed from the post.
