Thunderous blasts echoing beneath the streets of the Upper East Side were halted on Tuesday after dozens of residents complained about smoke and dust from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's subway project tunneling beneath 72nd street. Local residents spoke at a Tuesday evening community board meeting, and many described smoke and sewage problems in their apartments.

It's like gun powder that is going up in the air, said local resident Jean Schoenberger according to a New York Times report. It is a smoke cloud that is very pervasive.

The MTA says that blasting will halt until Dec. 5, according to DNA Info. During that time, project management will try to improve the area's muck houses, which are designed to minimize dust brought to the surface from the subterranean blasts.

Area residents have been covering their faces with scarves and shirts as they pass, according to DNA Info. I don't want it to turn into a 9/11 situation where, five to 10 years down the line we're sick, said local resident Donna Pressman in a New York Daily News report.

The MTA predicts that the track, which will extend the Q-line from E. 63rd to 96th Street, will be open December 2016, according to DNA Info.The project is part of the subway's $392 million contract awarded to Skanska, Schiavone and Shea Tunnel Constructors.

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