Noise Annoys, Rugrat Edition
The most frequent noise complaint real estate lawyer Stuart Saft hears nowadays concerns kids. “Fifteen years ago or so, it used to be that the noise complaints were all about loud stereo and TV equipment,” Saft is quoted as saying in a Times story about the pitter patter of tiny feet driving neighbors crazy. “Now…
The most frequent noise complaint real estate lawyer Stuart Saft hears nowadays concerns kids. “Fifteen years ago or so, it used to be that the noise complaints were all about loud stereo and TV equipment,” Saft is quoted as saying in a Times story about the pitter patter of tiny feet driving neighbors crazy. “Now it’s kid noise more than anything else, and I think it demonstrates the changing demographic of the city. You have more kids living in the apartment buildings, and parents who feel their children have the right to be children.” The story focuses on people like a Slope couple with two kids who try to keep their children from running around before 8 a.m. because their downstairs neighbor finds the tots’ noise “exhausting. Even my boyfriend doesn’t ever want to come over — it’s so horrible.” Another Slope mom says she “probably tried a little too hard” to keep her kids quiet and not upset neighbors when, at the end of the day, “They were not doing anything outrageous. They were just doing normal kid things. But small children, especially toddlers, have this clumsy flatfooted walk. It’s impossible to control.” The article says noise carries in a lot of prewar construction, especially in smaller buildings, and when apartments are renovated or combined, the end result is often the loss of some insulation. Some co-op boards install sound meters in apartments to determine if neighbors’ complaints are warranted, though the most frequent solution appears to also the most time-trusted when it comes to New Yorkers and their tight quarters: Compromise. “We do indeed walk on eggshells, and I find myself on tiptoes if I have high heels on, even when I’m not home,” says another Brooklyn parent.“I’m a trained monkey. But my 19-month-old is not.”
The Noise Children Make [NY Times]
Photo by Joey Harrison.
12:27
Or you can move out loser.
The problem isn’t raising kids in the city, the problem are these tasteless new money upper middle class suburbanites who have absolutely NO CONCEPT of behavior or manners for their kids. The worst are the people from California who are all, “you can’t crib my kid’s self-expression; if he wants to fart in your face, that’s his right!”
So many of these parents have no concept of space or other people whatsoever. They were all raised in depopulated areas like the Midwest or the South or the West Coast where they never grew up with having to mind other people. So when they decide to raise their kids in the city, Brooklyn, wherever, they DO NOT UNDERSTAND how to raise kids in heavily populated areas.
My solution: learn how to raise kids in a population-dense area, move to the fucking suburbs, or go back to your fucking Midwest backwater.
It ISN’T a passing trend – everything about oil (price, running out eventually) points to the fact that carless city living is the way of the future.
People like it for other reasons, too – that’s why people are choosing to stay in the city, and why prices keep going up in NYC while falling almost everywhere else.
There’s nothing wrong with living in less space. The traditional suburban house used to be more the size of a decent-sized two-bedroom apartment anyway. Now the average new surbaban house is more space than most people even use – lots of empty space to gather dust.
The elegant old apartments and cut-up houses aren’t bad when retrofitted with closets and built-ins to accomodate modern living. And many of these affluent city folk still aspire to have a country house as well – where some of the stuff gets stashed. And they are affluent – they (we) call ourselves middle class because it costs so much more to have an upper-middle-class-like existence in NYC than elsewhere, but the money the buyers have at current real estate prices and rents is certainly plentiful enough to term these people affluent.
live in brand new, supposedly “bad” by brownstoner standards, steel beam condo, and guess what?? it’s totally quiet! have a toddler right above me that in a year and half, have not heard even once!
pre-war, whatever… last time i lived in one, me and the downstairs neighbor were totally at war over noise. not worth it.
12:16 (the first time stamp)
Best post ever!!
I just wish all these new middle class parents would make a lot of noise to the city politicians and DEMAND better construction codes and materials to address noise issues.
I think just about everybody would be happy with that, well except the nimbys of course.
Ahh the wealthy and children – the only permitted classes of people we can still ‘hate’ –
Personally I find the spicks sitting out front with their car radios at 100db alot more annoying than pitter-patter of toddler’s feet – but I’m not allowed to say that anymore – Oh well –
“hey Kid = stop walking god damn you!!!”
12:04 thanks for elucidating the real problem! we don’t mind when poor people have to suffer through poor kid noise. but please let us not force the rich to suffer through the squalling of middle-class spawn!
the people who live above my friend in bushwick must have 10 kids. Its pretty hilarious listening to them sometimes.