Court Orders Pause on Late-Night Construction at New Chinatown Jail

A court ordered the city to temporarily pause late-night construction at the future Manhattan jail site in Chinatown on Monday, after neighbors and a local nonprofit challenged the city's decision to expand work hours. The order took effect immediately, and a hearing is scheduled for December 1.

The jail is one of four facilities the city is building as part of its plan to move detainees off Rikers Island and close that jail complex. On October 8, the city announced it would extend active construction to 10 p.m. on weekdays and add Saturday daytime hours, saying the change would allow the project to finish two years earlier, in 2032.

Residents said the extended hours made sleep impossible. Dennis Chung, manager of Pasteur Grill & Noodles on Baxter Street, said construction noise had driven customers away from the restaurant. Welcome to Chinatown, a local nonprofit, joined the legal challenge. Its co-founder, Vic Lee, said the community — particularly its senior residents — had been subjected to inhumane conditions.

In court filings, plaintiffs alleged that the expanded schedule was producing unbearable noise, dust, and overnight glaring lighting. They also argued the city lacks the authority to carry out late-night work at the site and that no environmental impact review was completed for the expanded hours.

Before the court order, a spokesperson for the Mamdani administration said the city was committed to its legal and moral obligation to close Rikers Island and transition to a borough-based jail system. City officials said they had installed sound blankets, vibration monitors, and dust monitors at the site. Despite those measures, five noise complaints were filed through the 311 portal in October, all between 6 p.m. and midnight.