WeWork made a name for itself selling the idea of happy communal workspaces, but it doesn’t sound like the startup has made friends with many of its neighbors in Gramercy.
The co-working company, which has had a challenging summer on a few fronts, is building out eight floors at 33 Irving Place, and residents who live nearby say late-night construction work has deprived them of shut-eye for months, the New York Post reported.
A spokesperson for the Adam Neumann-led company said the work is going into the night because the lease for 96,000 square feet with Belvedere Management won’t allow for certain types of construction during the day.
But, according to emails sent to WeWork [TRDataCustom], locals’ need for sleep has been overlooked.
“The noise is constant, and goes on past 11:30 p.m. at night. We cannot sleep,” one wrote. “Apparently it is cheaper for you to break down your walls and crush them outside of our windows, than it is to haul off full pieces. Good for you. Bad for us.”
As a peace offering to one disgruntled neighbor, a WeWork community manager offered a tour of the new space. “Our goal is certainly not to upset our neighbors, in fact, we are all about building a community,” the employee said, according to the Post.
WeWork told the newspaper the company would aim to complete further construction by midnight.
The firm, founded in 2010, was valued at $16 billion as of March but has had a rough couple of months. Earlier this year, it downgraded profit projections by 78 percent, news that became public thanks to a leaked document. It has also scaled back its plans to expand into co-living operations, amid higher-than-expected construction costs. [NYP] — Miriam Hall