noisy neighbors

carnivore

linusvanpelt wrote: Cliffs Notes version of this thread:

* Noisy neighbors are a blight on society

* Unless you're complaining about MY noise, in which case you're crazy

Is there any chance some people on this thread are unknowingly writing about each other?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to call 311 about the car alarm going off on my block.

Wasn't there a George Carlin joke like that?
"Your stuff is shit, my shit is STUFF!"

anonymous

Noise isn't just between walls. We have a band practicing on our block (four houses down) that I can hear through their walls, down the block and then through my walls. Of course, the rule is any band that isn't professional enough to hire out rehearsal space sucks and should hang up their instruments as a service to society. I tried talking to them a few times and I called 311 and even 911. 7 months later they are still practicing because "hey bitch, we gotta a gig". The other neighbors are annoyed too but afraid of them and afraid to cause trouble with them. This is when I wish their was a big daddy landlord that could throw their lame butts out on the street but.....sadly, mommie gave them their house which they are running into the ground.

anonymous

Subject: Re: Noisy Neighbors

Anonymous wrote: I have an apartment on 6th Street where I work during the day, and for about six months now, someone has been holding some kind of band practice, or drum practice in an apartment across the street from my place. Wondering if that might be where you live, because if so, it is HUGELY annoying, and i've considered calling the police many times.

Hmmm, I wonder if that's the same band I used to hear when I lived on 7th Street? You should definitely call 311 if it's late hours. I don't know if they respond during the day. There is such a huge issue with noise in the EV these days, but I think alot of it is being addressed. Anyway, I moved because I couldn't tolerate it.

erikka

linusvanpelt wrote:
Is there any chance some people on this thread are unknowingly writing about each other?
.

I really hope so.

anonymous

Erikka, sounds like you need to get a big, burly, scary-looking man or lady friend to take that trip across the hall with you the next time that you decide to knock on your neighbors door.
I have had 3 apts in nyc and they all came with certifiable and borderline crazy neighbors. Wierd thing is that they all lived below me. So top floor apts don't really help at all.
The great thing is that it makes for a great joke or dinner conversation (after you're out of the situation).
It's my opinion that nyc apts and houses in general are just built cheaply. Builders and developers are greedy and are so focused on maximizing profits and lowering expenses that they skip the extra steps necessary to provide adequate sound insulation.
Invest in a pair of earplugs (for sleeping) and some headphones. I use headphones to listen to my tv and stereo; this helps to block out some of the ambient noises from neighbors. Ipods or walkmans are also helpful for those days when your neighbor is doing construction or trying to annoy you with those chirping electronic devices.
NYC is the city that never sleeps and apparently you aren't supposed to either.
I'm really glad to hear that I'm not alone on this one. I thought I had the curse of being plagued of inconsiderate neighbors. My family tells me that I just have bad luck. Of course, they have the luxury of saying this because they live in detached nyc houses where the nearest neighbor is sometimes several yards away.
When things get bad you can entertain yourself with the following movies:
* Noise (see http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0362538/usercomments?start=10). I believe this one was set in williamsburg - drama, tragedy(?)
* Pacific Heights - thriller
* Duplex (believe this one was set in Park Slope) - comedy
Also check out the following article in the nytimes:
http://tinyurl.com/ws822

ditmasdancer

If you really want to be obnoxious, you could become a bellydancer and practice playing triplets and patterns on your finger cymbals at all hours. Those things are loud (get the really huge kind!), and when they're played poorly they're torment. Or you could take up the violin, or accordion.

Obnoxious neighbors are almost as bad as crazy roommates. Sheesh. The one time I had the radio too loud and woke my upstairs neighbors' child, I felt so terrible about it that I brought her a gift a few days later. Sounds like the people living next door to you are fresh-to-NY kiddies who have no idea what it means to live packed together.

erikka

Wow, thanks guest poster. I think this is the first time I've seen someone use guest posting for good rather than evil and it much appreciated given how much flak I've gotten the past few days. Thankfully, the situation seems to be getting better thanks to all the good advice I've gotten here.

brooklynpotter

erikka wrote: Wow, thanks guest poster. I think this is the first time I've seen someone use guest posting for good rather than evil and it much appreciated given how much flak I've gotten the past few days. Thankfully, the situation seems to be getting better thanks to all the good advice I've gotten here.

you shouldn't be getting flak.

it's your home. if you can't rest and be comfortable in your home then something is wrong and needs fixing.

the floor below me in the studio where i work has a really, really lousy band practicing. often it's just drums, but a whole band. with vocals. and they SUCK. and when they are playing in their tiny 12 x 12 space, they play as loud as you'd need to play if you were at, say, madison square garden.

and even with my radio turned as high as it can go nothing drowns them out. the landlord is working on it, but until then it makes my work space--another place that, esp. as an artist, needs to feel very comfortable--an unpleasant environment where i actually cannot work.

don't give up the fight.

nomad

Brian Lehrer on WNYC (93.9FM) is talking about bad neighbors right now! (Thurs Nov 16 @ 11.30am). Your experiences seem very appropriate!

erikka

nomad wrote: Brian Lehrer on WNYC (93.9FM) is talking about bad neighbors right now! (Thurs Nov 16 @ 11.30am). Your experiences seem very appropriate!

listening right now--thanks!

edit: did anyone else listen all the way through and catch the lady who hung a bag of dog doody on her neighbor's door? Daaaaaaamn!

rose

I know this is minor compared to erikka's hell, but my neighbors' wind chimes are clanging away on this breezy day. They have the things in the back of their backyard, so they're closer to my house than to their own house. Why do they assume anyone else wants to hear their damn windchimes? I hate windchimes! :x

anonymous

Subject: Noise solution

It states in most leases that you as a tenant are entitled to live in peace and quiet (not sure of the exact lingo). So, if your neighbor won't be respectful and you can hear his band practice and your landlord won't do something...I believe you can take them to small claims court eventually and sue them for everyday they violate your rights($200 a day starts to add up). A bit extreme, but extreme noise can call for extreme measures.

anonymous

Subject: hang in there, Erikka

Here's another voice on your side...do you what you have to do to keep your home a sanctuary, and don't feel bad about it. Especially in NYC, you have to have a place of sanity to escape to and recharge. Unfortunately, the city is full of selfish people who just don't care about others, and think their rent entitles them to play their house music, practice with their band, let their kids run amok...with no regard or respect for anyone else who might suffer for their selfishness and laziness. Whatever your response, they brought it upon themselves by their obnoxious and offensive behavior, and they deserve every last bit of whatever revenge you orchestrate.

concerneddenizen

I can hear the Polish people living below me through the vent in my bathroom. They speak in harsh tones and their child screams often. Help! I can't understand them, they could be in trouble.

anonymous

Did anyone listen to Brian Lehrer today on NPR? I guess NYC has the strictest noise laws in the country that are never enforced. That has been my experience sadly--not enforcing obvious noise violations.

anonymous

I don't understand how anyone has made 311 work for them. Am I missing something? 311 has been utterly useless for me. I have dreadful neighbors who blast this awful music, and what's worse, the pounding bass (makes my windows rattle), and I called 311 every single day for a month - literally - and got nowhere. Every day when I filed a new complaint and checked on the previous one they told me that the cops went, bla bla bla... nothin'.

I assume it takes a few hours till the cops actually come over, and the problem is that the jerks next door blast the music for a couple hours at a time. And I figure if the cops don't actually hear it, then they don't do anything - right? So let's say the music if off by the time they roll over here. Regardless, whatever they're doing (or not doing) has had zero impact on the neighbors. At this point I am just enduring it. The month I called every day straight was in August, and since then I've called sporatically, but honestly, calling 311 have proven more frustrating than helpful -- it just makes it worse that nothing gets done.

Any suggestions on what else to do? (can't argue with my landlord about it, because the problem neighbors are in the buidling next door -- so we share a wall and a bathroom window air shaft, but not a super or a landlord). 311 is useless.

brooklynpotter

Tise wrote: 311 is useless.

i don't disagree, but have you asked for supervisors? if your noise is at night, for example, i'd be sure to call during the day and work up the chain of command.

also, many noise complaints are, i believe, ultimately handled by another branch of the city (DEP?) and you can ask for that person as well when you call 311.

all i know is that the loon above me has called 311 to complain about the noise of my air conditioner, and she got them to come with a f'ing sound meter to measure the noise.

perhaps you need to sound psychotic when you call.

but seriously... call your councilman. call "shame on you"... work it. this is coming from the woman who got the out-of-date scaffolding removed from the armory (yay me! and i got to be on TV).

i'm not saying you'll win this one, but really work the problem in other ways than simply calling 311. it shouldn't have to be that way, but it is.

erikka

Tise wrote: I don't understand how anyone has made 311 work for them. Am I missing something? 311 has been utterly useless for me. I have dreadful neighbors who blast this awful music, and what's worse, the pounding bass (makes my windows rattle), and I called 311 every single day for a month - literally - and got nowhere. Every day when I filed a new complaint and checked on the previous one they told me that the cops went, bla bla bla... nothin'.

I assume it takes a few hours till the cops actually come over, and the problem is that the jerks next door blast the music for a couple hours at a time. And I figure if the cops don't actually hear it, then they don't do anything - right? So let's say the music if off by the time they roll over here. Regardless, whatever they're doing (or not doing) has had zero impact on the neighbors. At this point I am just enduring it. The month I called every day straight was in August, and since then I've called sporatically, but honestly, calling 311 have proven more frustrating than helpful -- it just makes it worse that nothing gets done.

Any suggestions on what else to do? (can't argue with my landlord about it, because the problem neighbors are in the buidling next door -- so we share a wall and a bathroom window air shaft, but not a super or a landlord). 311 is useless.

I've only used 311 twice and both times the police have arrived within two hours. It doesn't matter if they are making sound at the time or not--the police will still address the problem and knock. Did they give you a reference number for when you call so that a log appears that this is a constant problem? There were some links above to websites that had contacts to legal resources--maybe it's time to escalate the situation and go to the next level. There's also a website you can go to to see who owns property (sorry, does anyone know what it is?), I would present the owner with the building with a log of your calls and a threat of legal action. Chances are you aren't the only person who is bothered by their noise and it's in his/her best interest to address the problem and nip it in the bud.

Then again, this could all depend on the neighborhood you're in and where police resources are being allocated, etc...

anonymous

Thanks for the suggestions Potter. Unfortunately, I am not great at pitching a fit, but you're right, it's probably time. If I stop trying to be nice and just lose it hard enough, perhaps I will accomplish something. I'm jealous of your crazy neighbor who managed to get the cops there with a noise meter... I'm always envious of those people with no shame who can get things done by being aggressively nuts.

And erikka, yes, I've gotten a reference number each time I called 311 and checked on it the next day. I was always told the cops went to the building, etc. But apparently addressing the problem in whatever way they are, is NOT working. I don't really get it. I guess the a'hole next door is just not impressed by the cops. I suppose a huge ticket is the only way to get it to stop, and I'm sure they have to hear the music in order to write a ticket.

I know who owns the property - The Fifth Avenue Committee. You'd think they might care about this being a non-profit that supposedly supports the neighborhood, generally -- but I don't know if their hands are tied or what. I've heard from a tenant who actually lives in the noisy building (she sought me out, knowing that while I am not in her building, I share a wall with the bad people) and this poor woman is at the end of her rope... She's got little kids, and honestly, it's so much worse IN that building than it even is here, as I learned myself when I went over there one time to ask them to turn it down. This whole thing sucks. It's just not right.

brooklynpotter

Tise wrote: I'm jealous of your crazy neighbor who managed to get the cops there with a noise meter...

don't be... the woman can't deal with noise because a: it interrupts the voices in her head. and b: because it drowns out the sounds of any "monsters" who might come and then she wouldn't hear them.

and no, i am not kidding. we're talking a neighbor of the tin-foil hat variety.

linusvanpelt

Tise wrote: I know who owns the property - The Fifth Avenue Committee.

Have you called them?

anonymous

Subject: nyc cops better than edmonton cops???

What?? You guys live in NYC and you can actually get the cops to show up?? I live in freakin' Edmonton, Alberta CANADA and I can't even get the cops to respond to a break-in in progress...!!

caaahyoko

Subject: Re: Backwards Mattress?

Guest66 wrote:
Aren't mattresses symmetrical? How to you put it on backwards?

hahaha. Sorry! Its that the metal frame was backwards. It was one of those cheap-o $20 joints that is not quite as long as the mattress and open on one end. Apparently, the open end is supposed to go by your head, but I had it flipped the other way so that the foot end went down like a sea-saw on the open end.

drano

Subject: Re: nyc cops better than edmonton cops???

Jaded wrote: What?? You guys live in NYC and you can actually get the cops to show up?? I live in freakin' Edmonton, Alberta CANADA and I can't even get the cops to respond to a break-in in progress...!!

They are still in a funk because The Oil didn't pull it out last year.

laura

Rose wrote: I know this is minor compared to erikka's hell, but my neighbors' wind chimes are clanging away on this breezy day. They have the things in the back of their backyard, so they're closer to my house than to their own house. Why do they assume anyone else wants to hear their damn windchimes? I hate windchimes! :x

I love windchimes, and had some in my old place, but when I moved to my current place I was in Windchime Hell. There are about six windchimes across the way that I can see, a couple of them huge bigass ones, and when it was windy it resulted in a hellish crazy-making cacophony that kept me awake all night.

Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows:
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-
Of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

But you know what, I got used to it and hardly notice it most of the time now.

queencallipygos

I used to live in a building with really thin walls, floors, and ceilings. Every time someone new moved in, there were usually a couple instances of the newcomer playing something too loud because they just didn't know; after a couple of polite knocks on the door and "Hi, I'm your neighbor, and maybe you didn't know how far that carries..." it ususally stopped.

But sometimes you got people who ignored it. And for a while I had a downstairs neighbor that played really loud French technopop on a system that had a huge bass. No knocking on doors would fix it. One night I got fed up and took my speakers, turned them down to face the floor, and got out my CD of the O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU soundtrack and played the HELL out of "Man of Constant Sorrow." Complete with me stomping my feet in time and banging a spoon on a pot lid. When the song got to the end, I turned my CD off - and they had also turned off their technopop. I was left in peace the rest of the night.

erikka

So, to get around noise complaints they've started having band practice earlier. Like that makes it any better. Two hours of rearranging furniture and three of loud music. Landlord now says he can't do anything and I can't call the cops because it isn't after 9. It's like they think that if they shift it a few hours earlier they're being considerate good neighbors. Any revenge ideas welcome--the sneakier, the better. Seriously, I am ready to do something drastic. I had to listen to three hours of freestyle jazz last night.

carnivore

It's a step in the right direction at least.

erikka

Carnivore wrote: It's a step in the right direction at least.

They're twice as loud as they were before.

tuckpendleton

Erikka --

Double check the noise ordanance. I'm fairly certain that loud noises (like construction, etc.) have to stop by 7pm on weeknights, earlier on weekends.

If it is 9pm, there is still a difference between city-sanctioned noise, like construction, and non-city-sanctioned noise, like the people you are dealing with. Somewhere in your lease there is a clause along the lines of "warranty of habability" which basically says the landlord must make the apartment building a decent place to live. This clearly violates that.

As always, tenant.net is a good place to start. The next step I'd look into is paying rent into an escrow account...when the landlord stops getting paid, I bet he'll take more action. (the key is to keep paying the rent into an escrow account, that way when the landlord fixes the problem, you can pay him right away.) Again, more info on this at tenant.net.

And if you want to get mean, there are plenty of suggestions above...

And maybe there are some attorneys on here who can speak to the escrow account?