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June 28, 2008
Noisy Neighbors in Bed-Stuy
So, every weekend on Hart Street between Marcy and Tomkins there is a city owned apartment building. Every weekend the speakers go in the window, the grills go out on the sidewalk and the noise, traffic and drug use is unbearable untill the wee hours of the morning.
Last night at 11:00pm I called the 79th precint to complain. I was told "what do you want us to do? Welcome to Bed-Stuy!" This is unacceptable behavior; by the tennants and the police. Any suggestions?
Comments
Videotape the goings-on for several weeks and present to a politician who is motivated to get the cops off their duffs.
Posted by: guest at June 28, 2008 9:19 AM
I am a homeowner, too, and typically find this behavior selfish. BUT - YOU MOVED TO BED STUY!
Did you do any research? Don't you realize that your million dollar home is surrounded by lots of renters and too many people cramped into small apartments.
If you lived in a stuffy apartment, the street would function as an extension of your living space. Shame on you for trying to evict them from space that is rightfully theirs! Just because you move in doesn't mean that you should expect your neighbors to stuff themselves into their hot, tiny apartments just so that you can enjoy yourself.
If you wanted peace and quiet you should have moved to a place with fewer low-income renters. Ever heard of Victorian Flatbush? Or Kensington? Or Windsor Terrace? All equally "affordable" options with less noise.
Posted by: Jas at June 28, 2008 11:02 AM
i agree with video taping them and give it to the next community meeting.
Posted by: armchairwarrior at June 28, 2008 11:38 AM
11:02 has a point - every neighborhood has a feel to it, and you have to check it out before you move in. But the noise ordinances on the city apply to everyone, including the low income renters. I used to live in a stuffy apartment, and I didn't consider that license to create a disturbance on the street until late into the night - I considered it a reason to move to where I could afford more space. Call 311 instead on the police precinct, and keep calling. Enlist your neighbors to call if possible. The more complaints there are, the more likely that someone will take them seriously.
Posted by: guest at June 28, 2008 12:39 PM
Jas, I am a long time Bed-Stuy resident.....I was born here. I am all too familiar with the area. The building in question has a backyard that is available to them. Cramped quarters is no excuse for noise pollution, street litter and drug use! Cramped quarters do not allow you to come and sit on MY STEPS and get upset with me when I try to walk up MY STAIRS (BTW, I live 4 doors away). Cramped quarters do not allow you to come and sit on MY CAR. I am in no way trying to suppress the "flavor" of "the hood". I just want us to respect ourselves and our homes. I want the right to the peaceful enjoyment my home.
Posted by: gymfly at June 28, 2008 12:42 PM
Wow, Jas at 11:02, way to promote your own Victorian Flatbush neighborhood. If the OP was a panicky uptight suburban mommy type like you then they would not have chosen Bed Stuy in the first place, you're right.
Here's the truth OP, if you want to know it: homeowners and tenants absolutely are working on these issues in their neighborhoods. They've been doing it for decades now. Thus the huge progress in much of Brooklyn. As bad as some things might be it's NOTHING like it was before. And the progress will continue. You can help out and be a part of it.
Posted by: guest at June 28, 2008 12:49 PM
Forget videotaping the original problem. Record that kind of comment from the police and send the tape to an investigative reporter. That response by the police to actual crimes is unacceptable regardless of the neighborhood.
Posted by: guest at June 28, 2008 2:24 PM
These are actual crimes? Seems pretty far down on what I would expect the police to respond to.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at June 28, 2008 5:16 PM
We live in victorian flatbush and have the very same problem...those streets with victorians are separated by long stretches of apartment buildings that BLAST music well into the night. It's an urban problem/issue--not neighborhood specific. The only place to avoid it is the burbs...we aren't willing to do that to ourselves or our kids.
Posted by: guest at June 28, 2008 9:13 PM
You moved to Bed Stuy...Didnt you realize what goes on there before you moved there? If you just look at one of those crime charts you will see Bed Stuy bright red...come on. If you dont want all that chaos move out of NYC or at least to a lower crime/more family oriented area.
Posted by: nybk01 at June 29, 2008 11:18 AM
The people who keep commenting that the poster needs to get over it are missing the point. The outside is a shared space. And that means everyone has the right to enjoy it. Nobody has the right to a block party every Friday night. Nobody has the right to openly sell or do drugs on the street.
I live on a very quiet block in Bed Stuy, and it's kept that way by neighborhood pressure. There are a bunch of older ladies that are very upfront about "Quality of Life" issues like dog poop, loud cars, and the like. They are backed up by a strong community of retired cops, real estate agents and the like who own their homes and have lots of time to take down license plate numbers and call 311.
This strategy works. OP, you can't be the only one on the block with a noise/chaos problem. If you want to put pressure on the city housing, organize. Talk to your neighbors. Call 311 together. Go to community board meetings. Start a block association.
Posted by: vanburenproud at June 29, 2008 1:50 PM
"These are actual crimes? Seems pretty far down on what I would expect the police to respond to."
Spoken like a true defense attorney. And Micheal, Kobe, OJ, and Fifty cent were all innocent. Right. Your scummier than your criminal clients.
Posted by: guest at June 29, 2008 3:54 PM
moving to bed stuy and complaining about this is similar to going to college and complaining about underage drinking.
aint
gonna
stop
shit
Posted by: guest at July 1, 2008 10:27 AM
Call 311, keep a record of all the complaint numbers, and sue the building owners for harassment (in this case, the city). Not only call your precinct, many times, but also go to the precinct meetings!
Organize with your neighbors to do the same thing. Go to the precinct together. The response of the police, and the actions of the people in the apartment building, were/are unacceptable.
It is not ok to say "It's bedstuy, what did you expect"? The majority of the people that are on my block are wonderful, lovely, and very hard working neighbors who all know each other and help each other out. One or two knuckleheads spoil it for everyone? No, organize. Call 311. Keep records. If everyone calls, something will happen.
Posted by: guest at July 1, 2008 9:27 PM
Amen, 9:27!
Bed Stuy is really a testament to the power of low-level organizing with neighbors. The quality of your block really is in your hands.
The people who are saying that it's just a function of the neighborhood obviously don't live here and/or are speaking their fear. I have never lived in a neighborhood with a deeper tradition of strong neighbor coalitions to prevent quality of life crimes like the one the OP describes.
Posted by: vanburenproud at July 2, 2008 10:25 AM
Add me to the list of people who live in Bed-Stuy on a quiet, lovely block with a strong block association. I agree with vanburenproud et al., you can do something about this if you band together with like minded folks on your block. We had a situation with a lady who was off her meds and would blast extremely loud music out her window every night. One of my neighbors dropped off flyers at every house on the block saying, "If you're sick of this, call 311, the precinct, and this lady's landlord (he put the landlord's phone no. on the flyer too)". Enough people must have called because the problem went away instantly.
You might be able to get the building owner's phone number off of propertyshark.com.
Posted by: guest at July 2, 2008 8:08 PM
I recently stayed on 200 something block of hancock st and was suprised to hear grown brothers screaming like sissy's until 4 a.m.and this was night after night. Yes, its hot in the apt., but please the rest of us deserve our peace and quiet. Just because we are income challanged does not give us the liberty to be out of control. And, yes the police don't care unless these humans are killing us.
Posted by: guest at July 27, 2008 10:42 AM
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