New York, NY — At a busy Manhattan corner, a cabbie lays on the horn as he struggles through rush-hour traffic. A few blocks away, sirens blare as an ambulance races down the street. In the subway below, trains screech to a halt and an amateur dance troupe blasts hip-hop music on the platform.
New York can be earsplitting.
But city officials say Gotham is about to get a little quieter when new regulations governing jackhammers, barking dogs, barroom music and other auditory menaces take effect July 1.
Shhhh: New NYC Noise Code to Take Effect
New York, NY — At a busy Manhattan corner, a cabbie lays on the horn as he struggles through rush-hour traffic. A few blocks away, sirens blare as an ambulance races down the street. In the subway below, trains screech to a halt and an amateur dance troupe blasts hip-hop music on the platform.
New York can be earsplitting.
But city officials say Gotham is about to get a little quieter when new regulations governing jackhammers, barking dogs, barroom music and other auditory menaces take effect July 1.
Even Mister Softee will have to keep it down: The ice-cream chain must now stop playing its maddening jingle — the tinkling tune that gets stuck in your head — when the trucks are stopped in residential areas.
The new regulations represent the first revisions in the city’s noise code in more than three decades.
Some New Yorkers are wondering whether the City That Never Sleeps can change its ways.
“Last time I checked, this is New York,” said Erik Foss, owner of a bar and gallery called Lit in Manhattan’s East Village. “I don’t know how you make it quiet around here. It wouldn’t be New York if it were silent.”
Noise-related calls to the city’s hotline have been increasing steadily the past few years and are the top complaint. There were 38,660 noise complaints in 2005, and 41,856 in 2006. The main gripes during the day were construction. Barking dogs and loud air conditioners topped the list in later hours.
This past Saturday and Sunday, the hotline received 4,942 calls about noise — a weekend record.
“Noise is so pervasive in the city that people don’t even realize it’s happening,” said Robyn Gershon, a Columbia University expert on occupational health and safety. “But it affects your health. It has a cardiovascular impact, causes sleep deprivation. Plus, you can go deaf.”
The Environmental Protection Agency says people should not be consistently exposed to more than 75 decibels. Heavy city traffic is regularly 85, an ambulance siren is 120, and the subway averages in the 90s.
City officials say the new regulations employ a more commonsense standard that should result in fewer tickets, fewer arguments and less noise.
The old code relied on a way of measuring noise that was generally considered too subjective. Essentially, an officer could issue a ticket if the noise was unreasonable to a person of “normal sensibility.”
Under the new code, a bar or club can be ticketed if music is “plainly audible” to a cop or enforcement agent 15 feet outside the establishment.
Also, the fines for a first offense — $3,200 to $8,000 — can be waived if a bar or club submits a plan to muffle the noise.
“I think it allows the nightclub to continue to be a great place to hear good music. It’s just, the music has to stay in the club,” said Emily Lloyd, city commissioner of environmental protection.
Most police precincts have devices to measure noise, but officers often lack the time to calibrate the equipment. If a noise complaint is persistent, Department of Environmental Protection officials will take decibel readings with a device that also measures bass tones, the wall-thumping sounds that bug a lot of sleeping New Yorkers.
Foss, the bar owner, said he already uses soundproof curtains and a new sound system designed so that DJs cannot turn up the volume past a certain level. And since he owns the building, he gives upstairs renters a discount.
As for construction noise, developers will be required to submit a noise-mitigation plan on any project. A first offense can cost $875 to $1,400.
Loren Riegelhaupt, spokesman for Forest City Ratner Cos., the developer behind a huge Brooklyn project that will include a new arena for the NBA’s Nets, said keeping the noise down is good business.
“We’ll do everything we’re asked to do,” he said. As part of the Brooklyn project, the company is buying double-pane windows and quiet air conditioners for about 700 neighbors.
As for bothersome dogs, under the old code owners could be hit with a violation if the barking was “unreasonable.” The new code says an owner can be fined $75 to $175 for a first offense if a dog barks for more than 10 minutes during the day, or more than five minutes at night.
“We can’t turn New York City into Grover’s Corners,” Lloyd acknowledged. Instead, “we’re trying to help create a good balance.”
nice move, NYC
this is awesome!!!!!!!!!! finally!
curly
im soooo happy that thay got to keep it down but i wish thay had to shut it of 100% cuse that stupid song jast gets in my head but i also wish thay wold do somthing to the shvartses.
a crown heights resident
How about the noise at simchas bais hashoaivah – Montgomery and Kingston will that fall under the noise law?
Fire Trucks & EMS
I live on albany Ave.
All emergency vehicles go down Albany Ave
Fire trucks and EMS make the most noise at night. at 3 AM they don’t have to honk and blear the sirens, lights would be just fine.
if you got them to quiet down the city would be much quieter
Broken Alarms
get the cops to ticket cars with broken alarms that keep going on all night
I called the 71 and they never came
Mendel
what number do we call to complain? I have a shvartze that plays music really loud late at night ever other night. and he never wants to turn it off!
Will this law effect crown heights too?
This is Great!!!
I cannot stand the ice cream trucks at 12 o’clock at night
unimpressed
Do you think this will stop the SUV’s on President and Schenectady? Something tells me it wont….
resident
Does this mean no more Hachnosas Sifrei Torah or Simchas Beis Hashoeva?
trouble
what about the mitzva tanks ???
annoyed of all the noises!
I live on albany and i hate it. The shvartzes always play music at night, and sometimes i scream out the window at them.I hope it doesnt happen any more.
B H
the number to call is 311
Peretz Rivkin
a nice victory for the sane members of society.
check it out
CAll 311 (and register a complaint… and keep the ticket number… and call back in 8 hours to see what happend)
Carroll Street
Fuggedaboudit.
In the 71st u will get no responce!
My neighbour has a recording studio in his basement, music all hours of the nite (used to be drugs too, now I’m not sure) banging on the door all the time.
I have spent two years calling, 311, the 71st, community board. nothing, zippo nada. They don’t give a flying hoot!
The studio is so paranoid they have THREE!!! cameras outside that basement.
I wonder what else is going on there.
No 311 for me
I have sunrocket I can’t call 311 what can I do?
Anonymous
No 311 for me:
From the NYC Website:
Phone Numbers for 311
* In any borough of New York City call 311
* Outside of New York City call (212) NEW-YORK (212-639-9675)
* The TTY Number is 212-504-4115
* As always, callers should call 911 for emergencies
Re: Albany Ave siren problem
Attn: “Fire trucks and EMS”
in regards to you’re statement about fire trucks and ambulances over-using the sirens in middle of the night. . . i couldn’t agree more. it’s a big problem, and a misused tool. however, there are alot of new emt’s/paramedics working for various ambulance departments now here in this area (FDNY, Hatzolah, Hospital based ambulances, and Private Companies). these newbies for whatever reason keep the siren on the entire time, maybe they feel safer that way while passing through a red light. sadly, there is really not much you can do about it.
now, some other things to keep in mind: if you were the emt on the ambulance and you had a critical patient, and you had to get to the ER as fast as possible, you might also keep the siren on the whole time regardless of what time of day (or night) it was. after all, there ARE cars on the road at 3am too. i’m not saying it’s right, but im not saying it’s wrong either.
as someone once commented on this site, “imagine if it was you’re family member g-d forbid, wouldn’t you want the ambulance to respond as fast as possible?!”
so, what you have is noise Vs response time. an argument can be made that noiser doesn’t mean faster. that’s up to the pro’s and lawmakers to decide. (statistics and studies etc).
[Personally, I just keep the emergency lights on and i only make a little noise to get thru an intersection. once i’m through the intersection, i shut the noise. i drive the same speed as traffic without the siren on because it’s safer, unless cars are going alot slower then normal, or there is alot of traffic, OR i’m going to a really serious emergency such as pediatric emergency, severe difficulty breathing, gun shot to the chest, etc]
here in new york city, specifically in crown heights, it’s a very noisy place to live in. besides the constant blaring of police, fire, ems, and hatzalah sirens, we have car’s beeping, people screaming in the street, cars driving by with the music so loud it shakes the ground.
bottom line: this new law is great, but it will only decrease the noise polution problem by so much. as for the Albany ave siren problem, unless you’re willing to move, try ear plugs at night or something, otherwise, the noise is something you will have to deal with as long as you live in new york.
good luck!
thank g-d
i hope it works i can never fall asleep musics always blasting in my air from outside and i normaly can sleep with noise
me
Unless they stop the music on labor day, they shouldn’t be able to stop the music on simchas bais hashoaiva!!!!!!!!
Can-t sleep
This is why I can’t stay in N.Y. for
more than a day- How do you live in
a city that doesn’t sleep ? & did you realize when new yorkers drive they
honk along- Gosh!!!!