The epic new Rolling Stones exhibit in the West Village isn’t bringing everyone satisfaction.
Some residents near Industria Superstudio gallery at 775 Washington St., where theimmersive Rolling Stones exhibit Exhibitionism will run from Nov. 12 to March 12, said that itsconstruction and attractions are obnoxiously disrupting the neighborhood. Westbeth Artists Housing on Bethune Street faces the back of Industria Superstudio, where parties for Exhibitionism are frequently held and rage until later hours.
“The events have been noisy, both from the load-in and the load-out, and the parties go way past the time that they should,” Westbeth President George Cominskie told Metro.Westbeth residents, of whom many are seniors, complained to him about the noise. But they aren’t the only ones to sound off. Last week a party went to 4 a.m., he said, at which time a crew came in to dismantle with trucks and tractors that banged, cranked and went “beep, beep, beep as they backed up,” prompting some of Cominskie’s friends on Bethune Street to run out into the street and yell for them to get out. “People on Bethune were severely impacted,” he said. He had also observed many large trucks lining the streets during set up. And even the parties at reasonable hours are particularly loud.
RELATED: How the Rolling Stones have stayed relevant for 50 years “On Friday they had a party and opened the door for smokers, and the noise was just going up and down the street,” Cominskie said.
An email sent to Metro by someone using the name Marybeth Mackin complained that “Industria never sought community approval for the exhibit in this residential neighborhood, nor did they give us any warning.” She claimed the street was entirely closed down for two days as trucks supplied the exhibit.
Shipping company DHL – which stated on the exhibit’s website their pride to deliver for the Rolling Stones’ many parts and to be a sponsor of the show – did not respond to inquiry about the street closures by press time. The commotion in the neighborhood was noted by a security guard Carlos Henao at the Way West Development Corp. next door to the exhibit: Lots of garbage, and sidewalks obstructed with forklifts and cargo. “What if an ambulance was required in this residential neighborhood, with plenty of elderly residents,” Macklin stated in her email. According to her, someone associated with the exhibit told her that they “hadn’t thought of that,” “that” being the potential need for an emergency vehicle to get through. In a blurb on the website for the exhibit, DHL said “We regard our contribution as something that’s destined to endure; a lasting partnership between The Rolling Stones and DHL. After all, we all love to deliver satisfaction.” The public relations team for the exhibit did not provide comment about the grievances when Metro reached them.
