（087）2015/3/23：邻居搞装修前最好与其签订协
Leaves译 2015/3/23 原文来源：纽约时报
Dan Kramer found out his new neighbor was planning extensive renovations last summer when he overheard an architect talking in the backyard next door. Within a few weeks, the reality of how this project was going to affect him literally hit home.
去年夏天，丹•克雷默无意中听到一个建筑师在隔壁后院说话，才发现那位新邻居正计划对房子大规模翻新。对方的工程会对自己造成什么影响？短短数周内，这一现实就让他头痛到了家，而且是真的到了家。
“A brick had fallen down into a chimney stack, hit an obstruction, then burst through the plaster in my wall because it fell two flights,” he said. “It came in right next to a laundry machine and almost hit my friend.”
“一块砖从烟囱里掉下来，击中障碍物后砸穿了我墙壁的石灰，因为它掉的高度高达两个楼梯。”他说，“它就掉在一台洗衣机边上，几乎砸中了我的朋友。”
Mr. Kramer, who lives in the West Village in a 19th-century brownstone, is facing a problem increasingly common in the 21st, as homeowners renovate old buildings that share walls and foundational support — namely, how to protect your property (and sanity) when a neighbor does major construction.
克莱默住在纽约韦斯特村一栋建于19世纪的褐砂石房子里，和邻居要翻修的老房子共用墙壁和地基。他面临着一个21世纪越来越普遍的问题：邻居大搞建设时，要怎么保护自己的房产（和神智）。
People living next door to a house or apartment undergoing a serious makeover must deal with noise, dust, debris, and disruptions that can last for months, if not years, each one causing its share of headaches. But for owners of houses, the demolition process can also affect structural integrity, especially when developers dig deeper to gain space, because height restrictions prevent properties from growing taller. If not handled correctly, that process can cause adjacent homes to settle, so doors no longer shut properly and floors start to slope.
住在独栋房子或者公寓里的人，如果隔壁有人大修，他就必须应付噪音、灰尘、垃圾和各种干扰。这些就算不会持续数年，至少也有数个月之久，每一项都会让人头痛不已。但是对于独栋房子的屋主来说，装修同样会影响到结构的完整性。如果开发商为了获得更多空间往下挖得很深，那更是如此，因为建筑限高使得房子不可能往上造得更高。如果作业不当，这一过程会导致相邻的房子下陷，门关不上，地板也开始倾斜。
According to Mr. Kramer, contractors had not received the proper permission before they started removing bricks from the party wall he and his neighbor share. His neighbor, Ara K. Hovnanian, a real estate developer, is removing a rear addition, lowering the cellar floor and adding a penthouse, work that Mr. Kramer says has already caused leaks in his ceiling, the close call with the brick, and other damage, prompting him to hire a lawyer.
克莱默称，承包商开始从他和邻居共有的墙面上移除砖头前未获得正规许可。他的邻居阿拉•K•霍夫纳尼安是一位房产开发商，正在移除房屋后部一个附加建筑，挖地下室的地面，以及增建一个顶层阁楼。克莱默称他的装修已经使自己家的天花板发生了渗漏，砖头差点砸到人，加上其它损失，这些促使自己请了一位律师。
“Now we’re in the process of entering into a very detailed agreement about responsibility for damages and anything else that goes wrong,” he said.
他说：“现在，我们正在谈判，围绕这些损失的责任和其它所有出问题的地方签订一个细节非常详尽的协议。”
Robert Banner, a partner at Ingram YuzekGainen Carroll &Bertolotti who specializes in construction law, is helping Mr. Kramer negotiate that agreement, which covers issues like hiring a structural engineer to assess the state of Mr. Kramer’s building, and installing crack and vibration monitors.
Ingram YuzekGainen Carroll &Bertolotti公司合伙人、建筑法律专家罗伯特•班纳正在帮助克莱默就协议进行谈判。协议涵盖的事宜包括雇佣一个建筑工程师对克莱默的房屋状况进行评估，以及安装裂缝和振动监控器。
Chris McCabe, a lawyer representing Mr. Hovnanian, declined to comment on the situation.
代表霍夫纳尼安的律师克里斯•麦凯布拒绝对当前情况进行置评。
Mr. Banner recommends that adjacent homeowners ask to be added to the renovating neighbor’s insurance policy, and also have their own architect or engineer review the construction plans. That is especially important if your neighbor plans to dig a lower level deeper than yours, as it may require shoring up your foundation.
班纳建议，隔壁有人装修时，屋主应主动提出加入对方的保单中，同时还要让自己的建筑师或工程师审核装修方案。如果邻居打算挖的地下室比你家的要深，那么这一点就尤其重要，因为这可能需要加固你房子的地基。
“When you go down deep,” Mr. Banner said, “you’re creating an avenue for whatever is under the adjacent person’s building — soil or gravel — to flow a little bit. The adjacent owner’s property could move. That’s the biggest fear.”
班纳说：“如果你挖得很深，你就等于在邻居家房子下面创造了一个通道，不管是泥土还是瓦砾都会出现一些流动现象。隔壁房子会移动，这是最大的担心。”
Joe Tortorella, the president of Silman Associates, a structural engineering firm, says digging deeper is becoming more common in New York City, as new homeowners with lots of spare cash excavate to make room for bigger basements or amenities like swimming pools and wine cellars.
建筑工程公司希尔曼公司总裁乔•托尔托雷拉说，随着腰包鼓鼓的新屋主们不断开挖，把房间改造成大号地下室或者游泳池、酒窖等设施，越挖越深在纽约正在成为普遍现象。
Having worked for renovators and their neighbors, he has empathy for the parties on both sides of the construction fence.
托尔托雷拉曾为装修者和他们的邻居工作过，他对两方都抱同情态度。
“There’s the issue of vibration and how that may shake an adjacent building and loosen cornices or stone sills or even the foundation,” he said. “There’s also the opposite situation, where nothing is going wrong and just because of adversarial neighbors or hypersensitivity to the construction, the mind starts to imagine all these problems that might have already been there.”
“装修会带来振动的问题，还会摇动隔壁房子，使飞檐、窗台石甚至是地基变松。”他说，“同时还有相反的情况：任何岔子都没出，仅仅是因为邻居反对或者对装修过于敏感，于是就想象出各种问题，其实所有这些问题本来就已经存在。”
Mr. Tortorella says that’s why it is in the renovator’s interest to do a preconstruction survey of adjacent buildings, and especially to document the conditions inside neighbors’ homes.
托尔托雷拉说，这就是为什么在动工前要对隔壁房子进行评估，尤其是要记录下邻居室内情况，这符合装修者的利益。
“Take as many pictures as possible,” he advised. “Otherwise, you’ll pay for every crack that’s there.”
他建议道：“拍的照片越多越好，否则的话，邻居家每条裂缝你都得付钱。”
Of course, to do a preconstruction survey, one would need permission to enter the neighbor’s property, which is one source of leverage for anyone living next to a potential construction site.
当然了，要在动工前对隔壁房子评估的话，必须先征得进入邻居房子的首肯。
“They may need to access your land; they may need to come in on your roof,” said Elisabeth Cunnick, the owner of a nearly 200-year-old wooden house in Brooklyn Heights that is about to have company in the empty lot next door.
布鲁克林高地一栋接近200年历史的木屋房主伊丽莎白•卡尼克说：“他们可能需要走进你的底盘，也可能需要进入你的房子。” 她隔壁空置的土地即将建造一栋新房子。
To lessen the impact of watching a 9,000-square-foot building go up out the windows of her more modest home, Ms. Cunnick moved for a year to a studio in Manhattan. But the project was delayed and she has now moved back to Brooklyn just as construction is to begin.
她的房子不太显眼，而新建的房子面积却达到9000平方英尺，为了减轻影响，卡尼克搬到曼哈顿一个工作室住了一年。但工程延误了，她搬回布鲁克林时正赶上隔壁开工。
Since her lot is wider than her house, she is having a new survey made of the boundaries and has hired Mr. Banner to help negotiate an agreement with her neighbor. She also removed a chandelier, packed away most of her books to protect them from dust, and took artwork off the walls to avoid damage from vibrations from pile-drilling next door.
由于她的地块比房子更大，因此她重新对边界进行了鉴定，并聘请班纳帮自己和邻居进行谈判。她移除了一个枝形吊灯；把大部分书籍打包收走，以免落灰；并将艺术品从墙上撤了下来，以免隔壁打桩时将它们振坏。
Even more important than minimizing the stress of living side by side with construction, she said, is preserving her historic home.
她说，除了要减少住在建设工地旁边的压力，更重要的是保护自己那栋历史悠久的房子。
“When you live in a house this old,” she explained, “it’s like living in a big piece of 19th-century furniture. I would like to do everything I can to protect it. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I’m trying to figure it out as I go.”
她解释说：“住在这么老的一栋房子里犹如住在一套19世纪的家具里。我会不遗余力地保护它。我不知道确切需要做什么，但我会努力去弄明白。”
The lot next door to Ms. Cunnick is owned by SDS 155 Lincoln L.L.C. Louis Greco, the company’s manager, said, “It’s always very difficult to build next to an existing residence, but the laws are specific, and just being a good neighbor is paramount.”
卡尼克隔壁的这块地属于SDS 155 Lincoln有限责任公司。该公司经理路易斯•格雷科说：“在已有住宅旁边造房子总是非常困难的，但法律很具体，最重要的是要当个好邻居。”
For owners of historic buildings, one source of help may be a neighborhood group that promotes preservation; the Historic Districts Council’s Web site (hdc.org) lists organizations in all five boroughs.
对于那些有历史意义的房屋房主来说，保护历史建筑的街区组织可能会提供帮助。“历史地区委员会”的网站（HDC.org）列出了所有五个行政区的相关机构。
Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (gvshp.org), recommends that people concerned about a renovation project first try to communicate with the neighbor who is doing the work, and then become involved in the permit-approval process.
格林威治村文物保护社团执行总监安德鲁•波曼建议，如果有人担心邻居的装修工程，首先应该尝试联系邻居，然后参与到许可审批过程中。
“In cases where it’s a landmark property,” he said, “the application to do the work often has to go through a much more public process than if it were not a landmark property.”
他说：“比起非地标性房产，地标性房产的动工申请需要经历的公开程序往往要多得多。”
The society’s Web site lists applications submitted to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for properties in Greenwich Village, the East Village and other nearby neighborhoods; it includes dates on which the local community board or the preservation commission will consider these applications. Interested neighbors can sign up to receive e-mail notifications of updates to the status of an application for a particular address.
该协会的网站列出了格林威治村、东村和其它临近街区的房产递交给纽约市地标保护委员会的申请；包括了当地社区委员会或者地标保护委员会将会对这些申请考虑的日期。相关的邻居注册后可以收到电子邮件通知，内容是某个特定地址动工申请的状态更新。
Mr. Berman says showing up at community board meetings, at which renovation proposals are often publicly presented, is one way for a neighbor to voice any concerns.
波曼称，如果邻居对工程不放心，那么一种办法是参加社区委员会会议，通常翻修提案会在这种会议上公开提交。
“The problem is, often times people don’t hear about these applications until after it’s gone through the community board process,” he said, adding that community boards issue only recommendations, as opposed to having a decision-making capacity. “But they may be willing to say, ‘We don’t approve this unless you take these precautions to protect your adjacent property owner.’ ”
“问题在于，人们往往直到这些申请通过了社区委员会程序后才对它们有所耳闻。”他补充说，社区委员会只会提出建议，而没有决定权。“但是它们可能倾向于这么说，‘你要做好防护措施来保护相邻房产的主人，这样我们才会批准。”
The New York City Department of Buildings (nyc.gov/buildings) also offers resources for neighbors concerned about construction. On its Web site, you can enter an address and get information about jobs that have been filed for it, a record of any complaints or violations, and whether they have been resolved.
为那些不放心隔壁建造工程的人提供对策的还有纽约市大楼管理局（nyc.gov/buildings）。你可以在它网站上输入一个地址，然后就会得到申请文件的相关信息，还有关于它的任何投诉或者违规行为，以及问题是否得到了解决。
But homeowners say the site can be difficult to navigate if you are in search of useful information like plans, and some of the terminology can be hard to decipher if you’re not a builder or an architect.
但是屋主称，如果想要搜索一些有用的信息，比如建设计划，这个网站浏览器来就不太容易；如果你不是建筑工人或者建筑师，有些术语也看不太懂。
Anthony Sclafani, a department spokesman, says that plans are generally available at borough offices after a project has been approved, but that interested parties can find a rendering of the proposed changes by looking up the zoning document. (After entering the property’s address at the building department Web site, click on “jobs/filings,” select the most recent filing, choose the “virtual jobs folder,” then select “zoning document-ZD1.”)
大楼管理局新闻发言人安东尼•斯科拉法尼称，一个项目获批后，通常可以在区办公室获取建造方案（进入管理局网站该房产的地址后，点击“jobs/filings”，选择最近提交的文件，接着选“virtual jobs folder”，再选“zoning document-ZD1”）。
The city has introduced a mobile app (available for iPhone and Android devices) that provides access to building data.
该市推出了一个移动应用（iphone和安卓设备可用），用户可以用它来获取相关的建筑数据。
Using these digital tools, neighbors can find out whether the city has issued an after-hours variance permit for a construction project, allowing work outside the normal hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
邻居使用这些电子工具可以查明市政府是否给建造工程颁发过休息时间动工许可，有这种许可的话就可以在普通时间以外，即周一到周五的上午7点至下午6点以外的时间动工。
To report a violation — like saws screeching on a Sunday morning or safety concerns — Mr. Sclafani recommended that New Yorkers call 311, which may result in the arrival of a buildings department inspector and possibly, a stop-work order or fines.
至于告发违规行为，比如周日清早电锯就在咆哮，或者是安全方面的顾虑，斯科拉法尼建议纽约市民拨打311,。大楼管理局的检察人员可能会到现场查看，还有可能要求停工或者实施罚款。
Co-op or condo dwellers often have more protections than the owner of house, because of the alteration agreements that many larger buildings require when a resident undertakes a renovation project.
合作公寓或者共产权公寓的居住者获得的保护往往比房主要多，因为很多大楼租户进行翻修时，需要和管理方签订变更协议。
Eva Talel, a partner in the law firm Stroock&Stroock&Lavan, says these agreements vary, but should include details like how long the construction will last, what hours it is to be allowed, how the work will be monitored, what dust containment measures will be taken, how much the security deposit will cost, and what the insurance requirements will be.
法律公司Stroock&Stroock&Lavan公司合伙人伊娃•塔雷尔说，这些协议各有差异，但都包含一些细节，例如建造持续时间有多长，什么时间点允许动工，如何对工程进行监督，将采取什么措施来防尘，要出多少安全基金，以及参保条件是什么。
One agreement she negotiated — to be used by a building’s managing agent for all renovation projects, so every shareholder is subject to the same rules — is nearly 70 pages.
她参与的一项谈判协议接近70页。一家大楼的管理机构用该协议来管理所有的翻修工程，每名股东都需遵守同样的规定。
“The list of horrible things that can happen in the course of alterations is endless,” Ms. Talel said, citing a minor paint job that turned into a fire when a worker left a blowtorch too close to the paint. “Not only was that apartment gutted by the fire, but the neighbors suffered smoke and water damage after the fire department came.”
“改建过程中可能会发生的可怕之事数不胜数。”她援引了一个小小的油漆工作演变成火灾的例子，当时一名工人的喷灯离油漆太接近。“不仅施工的公寓被火灾吞噬，连邻居都遭到了烟熏，还因消防部门喷水灭火而殃及池鱼。”
Even though most renovations cause neighbors only temporary distress, she said, having an agreement can prevent problems like the lack of proper soundproofing in a new floor, as well as provide a path to a resolution if something does go wrong.
她说，即使大多数翻修对邻居造成的困苦只是暂时性的，但签订协议可以防止很多问题，比如新楼层缺乏适当的防噪措施；如果出了岔子，协议还会提供解决途径。
“It can end up in a lot of contentiousness,” she said of the building process, “which is not what one wants in a multifamily living arrangement.”
提到施工过程时她说：“协议可以终结很多纠纷，在有很多个家庭的居住环境中，人们可不想发生纠纷。”|
Next-door neighbors living in houses also have a delicate relationship to navigate. One woman who lives with her husband in an early 19th-century house in TriBeCa says they now regret not having asked for a written agreement when their neighbor began extensive renovations.
住在独栋房屋的人在处理邻里关系时同样比较微妙。一个和丈夫住在特里贝克地区一栋建造于19世纪早期房子的妇女说，她们现在很后悔邻居开始扩建时自己没有要求和对方签订一个纸面协议。
Although everyone started out with good intentions, and both sides tried to be accommodating when problems arose (like cracks in the walls and doors that would no longer open), she said good will eroded as the project dragged on for years.
她说，尽管大家出发点都是好的，出现问题后（比如墙上出现裂缝，门打不开了）双方都试着通融，但随着工程拖了数年之久，良好的意愿也销蚀殆尽。
Speaking anonymously to avoid further discord, she suggested that anyone in a similar situation with a neighbor “get things in writing — and find a structural engineer that you trust and believe is on your side.”
由于害怕引起进一步纷争，她不愿透露姓名。她建议和自己处于相似处境的人要和邻居“把事情落实到纸面上，然后找一个你信得过、自己利益说话的建筑工程师。”
But there are inevitably risks when centuries-old buildings are subject to the side effects of major construction, and not all damage can be repaired.
但是，当那些有几个世纪历史的老房子承受隔壁大型建设工程的副作用时，难免会产生风险，同时并非所有的损坏都能得以修复。
“We know that our house changed, and it has changed forever,” she said. “That’s not something that can be quantified.”
“我们知道自己的房子变了，而且是永远变了。”她说，“这种改变无法量化。”
Dan Kramer found out his new neighbor was planning extensive renovations last summer when he overheard an architect talking in the backyard next door. Within a few weeks, the reality of how this project was going to affect him literally hit home.
去年夏天，丹•克雷默无意中听到一个建筑师在隔壁后院说话，才发现那位新邻居正计划对房子大规模翻新。对方的工程会对自己造成什么影响？短短数周内，这一现实就让他头痛到了家，而且是真的到了家。
“A brick had fallen down into a chimney stack, hit an obstruction, then burst through the plaster in my wall because it fell two flights,” he said. “It came in right next to a laundry machine and almost hit my friend.”
“一块砖从烟囱里掉下来，击中障碍物后砸穿了我墙壁的石灰，因为它掉的高度高达两个楼梯。”他说，“它就掉在一台洗衣机边上，几乎砸中了我的朋友。”
Mr. Kramer, who lives in the West Village in a 19th-century brownstone, is facing a problem increasingly common in the 21st, as homeowners renovate old buildings that share walls and foundational support — namely, how to protect your property (and sanity) when a neighbor does major construction.
克莱默住在纽约韦斯特村一栋建于19世纪的褐砂石房子里，和邻居要翻修的老房子共用墙壁和地基。他面临着一个21世纪越来越普遍的问题：邻居大搞建设时，要怎么保护自己的房产（和神智）。
People living next door to a house or apartment undergoing a serious makeover must deal with noise, dust, debris, and disruptions that can last for months, if not years, each one causing its share of headaches. But for owners of houses, the demolition process can also affect structural integrity, especially when developers dig deeper to gain space, because height restrictions prevent properties from growing taller. If not handled correctly, that process can cause adjacent homes to settle, so doors no longer shut properly and floors start to slope.
住在独栋房子或者公寓里的人，如果隔壁有人大修，他就必须应付噪音、灰尘、垃圾和各种干扰。这些就算不会持续数年，至少也有数个月之久，每一项都会让人头痛不已。但是对于独栋房子的屋主来说，装修同样会影响到结构的完整性。如果开发商为了获得更多空间往下挖得很深，那更是如此，因为建筑限高使得房子不可能往上造得更高。如果作业不当，这一过程会导致相邻的房子下陷，门关不上，地板也开始倾斜。
According to Mr. Kramer, contractors had not received the proper permission before they started removing bricks from the party wall he and his neighbor share. His neighbor, Ara K. Hovnanian, a real estate developer, is removing a rear addition, lowering the cellar floor and adding a penthouse, work that Mr. Kramer says has already caused leaks in his ceiling, the close call with the brick, and other damage, prompting him to hire a lawyer.
克莱默称，承包商开始从他和邻居共有的墙面上移除砖头前未获得正规许可。他的邻居阿拉•K•霍夫纳尼安是一位房产开发商，正在移除房屋后部一个附加建筑，挖地下室的地面，以及增建一个顶层阁楼。克莱默称他的装修已经使自己家的天花板发生了渗漏，砖头差点砸到人，加上其它损失，这些促使自己请了一位律师。
“Now we’re in the process of entering into a very detailed agreement about responsibility for damages and anything else that goes wrong,” he said.
他说：“现在，我们正在谈判，围绕这些损失的责任和其它所有出问题的地方签订一个细节非常详尽的协议。”
Robert Banner, a partner at Ingram YuzekGainen Carroll &Bertolotti who specializes in construction law, is helping Mr. Kramer negotiate that agreement, which covers issues like hiring a structural engineer to assess the state of Mr. Kramer’s building, and installing crack and vibration monitors.
Ingram YuzekGainen Carroll &Bertolotti公司合伙人、建筑法律专家罗伯特•班纳正在帮助克莱默就协议进行谈判。协议涵盖的事宜包括雇佣一个建筑工程师对克莱默的房屋状况进行评估，以及安装裂缝和振动监控器。
Chris McCabe, a lawyer representing Mr. Hovnanian, declined to comment on the situation.
代表霍夫纳尼安的律师克里斯•麦凯布拒绝对当前情况进行置评。
Mr. Banner recommends that adjacent homeowners ask to be added to the renovating neighbor’s insurance policy, and also have their own architect or engineer review the construction plans. That is especially important if your neighbor plans to dig a lower level deeper than yours, as it may require shoring up your foundation.
班纳建议，隔壁有人装修时，屋主应主动提出加入对方的保单中，同时还要让自己的建筑师或工程师审核装修方案。如果邻居打算挖的地下室比你家的要深，那么这一点就尤其重要，因为这可能需要加固你房子的地基。
“When you go down deep,” Mr. Banner said, “you’re creating an avenue for whatever is under the adjacent person’s building — soil or gravel — to flow a little bit. The adjacent owner’s property could move. That’s the biggest fear.”
班纳说：“如果你挖得很深，你就等于在邻居家房子下面创造了一个通道，不管是泥土还是瓦砾都会出现一些流动现象。隔壁房子会移动，这是最大的担心。”
Joe Tortorella, the president of Silman Associates, a structural engineering firm, says digging deeper is becoming more common in New York City, as new homeowners with lots of spare cash excavate to make room for bigger basements or amenities like swimming pools and wine cellars.
建筑工程公司希尔曼公司总裁乔•托尔托雷拉说，随着腰包鼓鼓的新屋主们不断开挖，把房间改造成大号地下室或者游泳池、酒窖等设施，越挖越深在纽约正在成为普遍现象。
Having worked for renovators and their neighbors, he has empathy for the parties on both sides of the construction fence.
托尔托雷拉曾为装修者和他们的邻居工作过，他对两方都抱同情态度。
“There’s the issue of vibration and how that may shake an adjacent building and loosen cornices or stone sills or even the foundation,” he said. “There’s also the opposite situation, where nothing is going wrong and just because of adversarial neighbors or hypersensitivity to the construction, the mind starts to imagine all these problems that might have already been there.”
“装修会带来振动的问题，还会摇动隔壁房子，使飞檐、窗台石甚至是地基变松。”他说，“同时还有相反的情况：任何岔子都没出，仅仅是因为邻居反对或者对装修过于敏感，于是就想象出各种问题，其实所有这些问题本来就已经存在。”
Mr. Tortorella says that’s why it is in the renovator’s interest to do a preconstruction survey of adjacent buildings, and especially to document the conditions inside neighbors’ homes.
托尔托雷拉说，这就是为什么在动工前要对隔壁房子进行评估，尤其是要记录下邻居室内情况，这符合装修者的利益。
“Take as many pictures as possible,” he advised. “Otherwise, you’ll pay for every crack that’s there.”
他建议道：“拍的照片越多越好，否则的话，邻居家每条裂缝你都得付钱。”
Of course, to do a preconstruction survey, one would need permission to enter the neighbor’s property, which is one source of leverage for anyone living next to a potential construction site.
当然了，要在动工前对隔壁房子评估的话，必须先征得进入邻居房子的首肯。
“They may need to access your land; they may need to come in on your roof,” said Elisabeth Cunnick, the owner of a nearly 200-year-old wooden house in Brooklyn Heights that is about to have company in the empty lot next door.
布鲁克林高地一栋接近200年历史的木屋房主伊丽莎白•卡尼克说：“他们可能需要走进你的底盘，也可能需要进入你的房子。” 她隔壁空置的土地即将建造一栋新房子。
To lessen the impact of watching a 9,000-square-foot building go up out the windows of her more modest home, Ms. Cunnick moved for a year to a studio in Manhattan. But the project was delayed and she has now moved back to Brooklyn just as construction is to begin.
她的房子不太显眼，而新建的房子面积却达到9000平方英尺，为了减轻影响，卡尼克搬到曼哈顿一个工作室住了一年。但工程延误了，她搬回布鲁克林时正赶上隔壁开工。
Since her lot is wider than her house, she is having a new survey made of the boundaries and has hired Mr. Banner to help negotiate an agreement with her neighbor. She also removed a chandelier, packed away most of her books to protect them from dust, and took artwork off the walls to avoid damage from vibrations from pile-drilling next door.
由于她的地块比房子更大，因此她重新对边界进行了鉴定，并聘请班纳帮自己和邻居进行谈判。她移除了一个枝形吊灯；把大部分书籍打包收走，以免落灰；并将艺术品从墙上撤了下来，以免隔壁打桩时将它们振坏。
Even more important than minimizing the stress of living side by side with construction, she said, is preserving her historic home.
她说，除了要减少住在建设工地旁边的压力，更重要的是保护自己那栋历史悠久的房子。
“When you live in a house this old,” she explained, “it’s like living in a big piece of 19th-century furniture. I would like to do everything I can to protect it. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I’m trying to figure it out as I go.”
她解释说：“住在这么老的一栋房子里犹如住在一套19世纪的家具里。我会不遗余力地保护它。我不知道确切需要做什么，但我会努力去弄明白。”
The lot next door to Ms. Cunnick is owned by SDS 155 Lincoln L.L.C. Louis Greco, the company’s manager, said, “It’s always very difficult to build next to an existing residence, but the laws are specific, and just being a good neighbor is paramount.”
卡尼克隔壁的这块地属于SDS 155 Lincoln有限责任公司。该公司经理路易斯•格雷科说：“在已有住宅旁边造房子总是非常困难的，但法律很具体，最重要的是要当个好邻居。”
For owners of historic buildings, one source of help may be a neighborhood group that promotes preservation; the Historic Districts Council’s Web site (hdc.org) lists organizations in all five boroughs.
对于那些有历史意义的房屋房主来说，保护历史建筑的街区组织可能会提供帮助。“历史地区委员会”的网站（HDC.org）列出了所有五个行政区的相关机构。
Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (gvshp.org), recommends that people concerned about a renovation project first try to communicate with the neighbor who is doing the work, and then become involved in the permit-approval process.
格林威治村文物保护社团执行总监安德鲁•波曼建议，如果有人担心邻居的装修工程，首先应该尝试联系邻居，然后参与到许可审批过程中。
“In cases where it’s a landmark property,” he said, “the application to do the work often has to go through a much more public process than if it were not a landmark property.”
他说：“比起非地标性房产，地标性房产的动工申请需要经历的公开程序往往要多得多。”
The society’s Web site lists applications submitted to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for properties in Greenwich Village, the East Village and other nearby neighborhoods; it includes dates on which the local community board or the preservation commission will consider these applications. Interested neighbors can sign up to receive e-mail notifications of updates to the status of an application for a particular address.
该协会的网站列出了格林威治村、东村和其它临近街区的房产递交给纽约市地标保护委员会的申请；包括了当地社区委员会或者地标保护委员会将会对这些申请考虑的日期。相关的邻居注册后可以收到电子邮件通知，内容是某个特定地址动工申请的状态更新。
Mr. Berman says showing up at community board meetings, at which renovation proposals are often publicly presented, is one way for a neighbor to voice any concerns.
波曼称，如果邻居对工程不放心，那么一种办法是参加社区委员会会议，通常翻修提案会在这种会议上公开提交。
“The problem is, often times people don’t hear about these applications until after it’s gone through the community board process,” he said, adding that community boards issue only recommendations, as opposed to having a decision-making capacity. “But they may be willing to say, ‘We don’t approve this unless you take these precautions to protect your adjacent property owner.’ ”
“问题在于，人们往往直到这些申请通过了社区委员会程序后才对它们有所耳闻。”他补充说，社区委员会只会提出建议，而没有决定权。“但是它们可能倾向于这么说，‘你要做好防护措施来保护相邻房产的主人，这样我们才会批准。”
The New York City Department of Buildings (nyc.gov/buildings) also offers resources for neighbors concerned about construction. On its Web site, you can enter an address and get information about jobs that have been filed for it, a record of any complaints or violations, and whether they have been resolved.
为那些不放心隔壁建造工程的人提供对策的还有纽约市大楼管理局（nyc.gov/buildings）。你可以在它网站上输入一个地址，然后就会得到申请文件的相关信息，还有关于它的任何投诉或者违规行为，以及问题是否得到了解决。
But homeowners say the site can be difficult to navigate if you are in search of useful information like plans, and some of the terminology can be hard to decipher if you’re not a builder or an architect.
但是屋主称，如果想要搜索一些有用的信息，比如建设计划，这个网站浏览器来就不太容易；如果你不是建筑工人或者建筑师，有些术语也看不太懂。
Anthony Sclafani, a department spokesman, says that plans are generally available at borough offices after a project has been approved, but that interested parties can find a rendering of the proposed changes by looking up the zoning document. (After entering the property’s address at the building department Web site, click on “jobs/filings,” select the most recent filing, choose the “virtual jobs folder,” then select “zoning document-ZD1.”)
大楼管理局新闻发言人安东尼•斯科拉法尼称，一个项目获批后，通常可以在区办公室获取建造方案（进入管理局网站该房产的地址后，点击“jobs/filings”，选择最近提交的文件，接着选“virtual jobs folder”，再选“zoning document-ZD1”）。
The city has introduced a mobile app (available for iPhone and Android devices) that provides access to building data.
该市推出了一个移动应用（iphone和安卓设备可用），用户可以用它来获取相关的建筑数据。
Using these digital tools, neighbors can find out whether the city has issued an after-hours variance permit for a construction project, allowing work outside the normal hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
邻居使用这些电子工具可以查明市政府是否给建造工程颁发过休息时间动工许可，有这种许可的话就可以在普通时间以外，即周一到周五的上午7点至下午6点以外的时间动工。
To report a violation — like saws screeching on a Sunday morning or safety concerns — Mr. Sclafani recommended that New Yorkers call 311, which may result in the arrival of a buildings department inspector and possibly, a stop-work order or fines.
至于告发违规行为，比如周日清早电锯就在咆哮，或者是安全方面的顾虑，斯科拉法尼建议纽约市民拨打311,。大楼管理局的检察人员可能会到现场查看，还有可能要求停工或者实施罚款。
Co-op or condo dwellers often have more protections than the owner of house, because of the alteration agreements that many larger buildings require when a resident undertakes a renovation project.
合作公寓或者共产权公寓的居住者获得的保护往往比房主要多，因为很多大楼租户进行翻修时，需要和管理方签订变更协议。
Eva Talel, a partner in the law firm Stroock&Stroock&Lavan, says these agreements vary, but should include details like how long the construction will last, what hours it is to be allowed, how the work will be monitored, what dust containment measures will be taken, how much the security deposit will cost, and what the insurance requirements will be.
法律公司Stroock&Stroock&Lavan公司合伙人伊娃•塔雷尔说，这些协议各有差异，但都包含一些细节，例如建造持续时间有多长，什么时间点允许动工，如何对工程进行监督，将采取什么措施来防尘，要出多少安全基金，以及参保条件是什么。
One agreement she negotiated — to be used by a building’s managing agent for all renovation projects, so every shareholder is subject to the same rules — is nearly 70 pages.
她参与的一项谈判协议接近70页。一家大楼的管理机构用该协议来管理所有的翻修工程，每名股东都需遵守同样的规定。
“The list of horrible things that can happen in the course of alterations is endless,” Ms. Talel said, citing a minor paint job that turned into a fire when a worker left a blowtorch too close to the paint. “Not only was that apartment gutted by the fire, but the neighbors suffered smoke and water damage after the fire department came.”
“改建过程中可能会发生的可怕之事数不胜数。”她援引了一个小小的油漆工作演变成火灾的例子，当时一名工人的喷灯离油漆太接近。“不仅施工的公寓被火灾吞噬，连邻居都遭到了烟熏，还因消防部门喷水灭火而殃及池鱼。”
Even though most renovations cause neighbors only temporary distress, she said, having an agreement can prevent problems like the lack of proper soundproofing in a new floor, as well as provide a path to a resolution if something does go wrong.
她说，即使大多数翻修对邻居造成的困苦只是暂时性的，但签订协议可以防止很多问题，比如新楼层缺乏适当的防噪措施；如果出了岔子，协议还会提供解决途径。
“It can end up in a lot of contentiousness,” she said of the building process, “which is not what one wants in a multifamily living arrangement.”
提到施工过程时她说：“协议可以终结很多纠纷，在有很多个家庭的居住环境中，人们可不想发生纠纷。”|
Next-door neighbors living in houses also have a delicate relationship to navigate. One woman who lives with her husband in an early 19th-century house in TriBeCa says they now regret not having asked for a written agreement when their neighbor began extensive renovations.
住在独栋房屋的人在处理邻里关系时同样比较微妙。一个和丈夫住在特里贝克地区一栋建造于19世纪早期房子的妇女说，她们现在很后悔邻居开始扩建时自己没有要求和对方签订一个纸面协议。
Although everyone started out with good intentions, and both sides tried to be accommodating when problems arose (like cracks in the walls and doors that would no longer open), she said good will eroded as the project dragged on for years.
她说，尽管大家出发点都是好的，出现问题后（比如墙上出现裂缝，门打不开了）双方都试着通融，但随着工程拖了数年之久，良好的意愿也销蚀殆尽。
Speaking anonymously to avoid further discord, she suggested that anyone in a similar situation with a neighbor “get things in writing — and find a structural engineer that you trust and believe is on your side.”
由于害怕引起进一步纷争，她不愿透露姓名。她建议和自己处于相似处境的人要和邻居“把事情落实到纸面上，然后找一个你信得过、自己利益说话的建筑工程师。”
But there are inevitably risks when centuries-old buildings are subject to the side effects of major construction, and not all damage can be repaired.
但是，当那些有几个世纪历史的老房子承受隔壁大型建设工程的副作用时，难免会产生风险，同时并非所有的损坏都能得以修复。
“We know that our house changed, and it has changed forever,” she said. “That’s not something that can be quantified.”
“我们知道自己的房子变了，而且是永远变了。”她说，“这种改变无法量化。”
