Chicago Journal:Generating friction in the Prairie District

My first article in the Chicago Journal! I took my friend C.J. with me to this meeting, so I didn't have to go down town alone. It was...interesting. After traffic, getting lost, and much more craziness I made it to the meeting just in time. I've never heard of the Praire District before covering this meeting, but it's a beautiful neighborhood. I mean after hearing about the noise complaints I'm glad I don't live there, but it is still pretty. I think the residents should move to the G.E. where it's much more peaceful. I mean the only noise you hear are the occasional bird chirps.

http://chicagojournal.com/News/In-The-Paper/03-10-2010/Generating_friction_in_the_Prairie_District

Generating friction in the Prairie District
Residents fed up with generators’ noise
03/10/2010 10:00 PM

By ANGELA ROMANO
Contributing Reporter

Debra Seger has owned the Wheeler Mansion, a graceful throwback to the Prairie Avenue Historic District’s glory days at 2020 S. Calumet, for the last 14 years.

Now a bed and breakfast, Seger says she’s lost thousands of dollars each year from angry patrons demanding a refund because of the generator noise emanating from a nearby data center owned by Digital Realty.

On Tuesday at the National Guard Armory, 1910 S. Calumet, staff from Ald. Robert Fioretti’s office and residents met with Digital Realty representatives to discuss the noise and pollution the generators produce.

The San Francisco-based firm operates two data storage centers in the South Loop, including one at 350 E. Cermak, in the Prairie District. With 24 generators located outside that facility and another 18 inside, the noise is too much for neighbors.

“I’m sick and tired of calling the police because of these generators,” said Jeffrey Ayersman, a leader of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance. “I just want to sleep peacefully without hearing the generators or wondering if they are going to go off.”

Digital Realty’s Brian Marsh said each of the tenants in the Cermak building needs a generator to guarantee their data. And some of those companies, he acknowledged, have old equipment.

“We lease our building to hundreds of customers. Each tenant needs their own back-up generators to ensure their computer server,” Marsh said. “The problem is that several generators are out of date and need to be updated. We would like them to update their generators and reach some sort of agreement, but we can’t force them to do anything.”

Last year, according to Digital Realty logs, generators would run four to five days in a row but not after business hours. That, however, is disputed by neighbors who say they hear otherwise.

“These generators are constantly running and when I want to come home Friday night from a long week at work and relax, I can’t,” said Seger, from the Wheeler Mansion. “One time the generators began running on Friday night and didn’t stop until Sunday night.”

Noise isn’t the only issue causing worry — pollution is too.

“Having 24 generators outside the facility is frightening to me,” said Lorena Petani, who lives half a block from the Cermak Road facility. “I want my kids to be safe and 24 generators must produce massive amounts of pollution, and if it’s harming my children I want to know.”

Digital Realty representatives said the diesel used to power the generators were safe for the environment, but residents wanted documentation that the constant use of 24 generators isn’t having a long-term affect on their health.

To allay some of the critiques, the firm has put up a 24-foot sound barrier to muffle noise coming from their rooftop chillers, a move many agreed had helped.

Marsh said the firm would continue seeking solutions.

“Our hands are tied up with what we can do because we don’t own all the generators,” he said. “We are willing to do our best to help out. We want to open the communication doors.”

Neighbors, however, are looking for something more concrete.

“We don’t care what you have to do or how it’s done,” Seger said. “I’ve been dealing with this for 15 years and don’t want to hear them anymore. If I wanted to live by an airport I would have. This is our home and we want peace and quiet.”