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Strange Ethereal Tones in Greenpoint — Brooklynian

Strange Ethereal Tones in Greenpoint

bknuckle
bknuckle
edited November -1 in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick
My curiosity is unrelenting.

Has anyone hear the periodic electronic-sounding tones in Greenpoint. It seems to happen every half-hour or so (though not always). It's hard to describe, like four tones medium high pitch "ringle-lingle...ringle-lingle?" Anybody know what it is? :?:

Comments

  • arlette
    arlette
    Could it be Sarah Palin making another stupid remark? You said high pitched right and sounding like ringle tingle?
  • whatsthatcat
    whatsthatcat

    Subject: Ethereal Tones

    It's like a doorbell, sort of, right? I have heard it too. Very odd, I have often wanted to try to venture out to discover it's source, but I'm not a precocious pre-teen from a YA novel in the 80's.
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    Any particular part of the neighborhood?
  • bknuckle
    bknuckle
    I live on Greenpoint, just West of McGuiness, and yes, kind of like a doorbell.
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    Yea I don't hear it ever in my area (N Henry and Driggs). I'm up around there often though, I'll haveta listen out for it. Has it been at any time of day specificly or at random?
  • mitchny
    mitchny
    I think they are train signals, possibly door chimes. There is a trainyard directly over the Pulaski bridge in LIC, and also near the Greenpoint Ave bridge.
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    That would make sense. I even hear the whistle from the trains in the morning when I'm walking through McGolrick to the G.
  • iliveingreenpoint
    iliveingreenpoint
    I made a comment to my boyfriend just yesterday thinking that it was the subway doors opening and closing.
  • bknuckle
    bknuckle
    The subway doors go "Bing-bong." This tone goes "ringle-lingle"
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    And there's no way you'd be able to hear the subway door chimes in Greenpoint from Queens. There's an industrial freight line that runs on the other side of Newton Creek and then that yard is for the LIRR.
  • mitchny
    mitchny
    I didn't say they were subway signals; they sound like LIRR door chimes. You can hear other train related sounds over here(Humboldt near Norman) as well
  • bleibtreu
    bleibtreu
    I thought I'd posted this a few days ago, but somehow it's not here...

    According the the Brooklyn Paper, it's the PA system at the wastewater treatment plant:

    http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/43/31_43_bm_greenpoint_tone.html
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    Well there we go. And there goes my hopes of mysterious covert railfanning in the neighborhood! Ah to still live off the River Line...
  • caaahyoko
    caaahyoko
    Darn. I was hoping it was giant Tenori-on played by cool Japanese guys and secretly housed in a wearhouse somewhere. There go my weekend plans to hunt it down.
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    caaahyoko wrote: Darn. I was hoping it was giant Tenori-on played by cool Japanese guys and secretly housed in a wearhouse somewhere. There go my weekend plans to hunt it down.
    That would be even cooler! Oh well...
  • bleibtreu
    bleibtreu
    caaahyoko wrote: Darn. I was hoping it was giant Tenori-on played by cool Japanese guys and secretly housed in a wearhouse somewhere.
    Personally, that's the explanation I'm going with if I ever hear it with anyone who doesn't know what it is. Which seems to still be almost everyone. Great rumor to get going.

    Coincidentally I heard it for the first time myself the night before I saw the explanation in the paper. I live near Lorimer and Calyer, so it's probably not so audible down there. But that night I was walking with a friend to her place on Franklin and Eagle and realized as we walked towards Franklin from Manhattan that I'd been hearing it coming from behind us for awhile without even noticing. She hadn't noticed it before either, but the time we noticed it there were only a couple more "rings" before it went silent.
  • caaahyoko
    caaahyoko
    Well, I did hear there is a kit you can buy for $250 to essentially build your own tenori-on. We could just get like 50 or so, solder them together and stick it somewhere. Like a "if you build it, they will come" sort of thing. ;)
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