Street Loiterers & Their Music
I recently bought a co-op, and my unit happens to be very near a small park and deli – both of which are apparently gathering places on nice days. I actually don’t mind the gathering so much, but there is always a soundtrack accompanying these gatherings. People either open up their cars and blare music…
I recently bought a co-op, and my unit happens to be very near a small park and deli – both of which are apparently gathering places on nice days. I actually don’t mind the gathering so much, but there is always a soundtrack accompanying these gatherings. People either open up their cars and blare music for all to hear, or they bring boom boxes. I am subjected to music all day and evening, all weekend long. I’ve even heard the music coming from the windows of the building next door (which I do not think is a co-op). I call 311 all the time, but what else can I do to get this under control? The little park is actually designated as a “Quiet Zone.”
Good Luck RFM. For the record, I never said that you were a “condescending gentrifier.” I should have put that in quotes. Agentsquid speaks sense of course but I will say, maybe its not as simple – it goes across the spectrum of race, class, culture, aesthetic, and time in one’s life.
Will the “I’m gonna have a noisy stoop sale/backyard wine & cheese soiree every other weekend, May-October Park Slope Garden apt Renters have the same tolerance for the “slightly less refined music” featured @ the annual block party after they’ve just plunked down 900k on a Lefferts Gardens Townhouse ?
For the early 30-something parents who could’ve cared less about their bottom neighbor’s sanity as their 3 year old twins tested out their newfound walking, running, jumping & stomping skills in their second floor Prospect Heights rental. Will they be as forgiving towards their neighbors’ kids playing on the sidewalk in front of their newly purchased Bed Stuy Brownstone 5 years later?
Does the relatively recent homeowner feel he/she should have larger say in neighborhood affairs than the large family living across the street for generations because they “only rent”
Does the loud 20 year-old night club/bar feel they have any obligation their new “residential” neighbors who increasingly make up their once industrial ‘hood?
Perceived territorial encroachment/sense of entitlement plays a large role as well.
Oh, and another thing…should we start saying “Oh, just deal with getting your apt. broken into…it’s the city afterall.” Get real folks. Yes, the city has some noise, but a lot of it is truly unnecessary and just because it’s gone on for a long time doesn’t make it right. There are a lot of things that have gone on in this city for many years that should not continue. The whole “they were here first” argument is quite childish…what are we? Second graders fighting over the window seat on the bus???
I too get tired of reading responses to questions like this that fault the poster for choosing to live in a particular area. Just because you are new to a neighborhood or are white doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to enjoy some peace and quiet. I also get tired of the folks who pull up outside my apartment and play music so loud that it rattles the stuff on my walls. It’s annoying and stupid. So far my only recourse is praying like mad that they go totally deaf really really soon, therefore making their car stereo systems a waste of space 🙂 O.P., I sympathize and please, if you find an effective way to combat this, let me know!
Thanks agentofthesquid! I *totally* agree with everything you said. I believe a lot of people on the block surrounding the little park would appreciate it if every nice day they *weren’t* subjected to music from noon to midnight or later. I haven’t yet found a block association, but there must be one around.
Rob I know you like to heat up the discussions on this forum, but just because it’s the city doesn’t mean you just have to take all the bad stuff that comes all the time. So many quality of life changes are made because of people who care about their neighborhoods.
Anyway, I’m new to home ownership so I’ve never been as invested in a place as I am now. I do think I will be active in the community because I plan on being here for a long time and I really like it here (other than the weekend soundtrack!). But I just don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with my new neighbors and new community.
still tho… cities are loud and fun. that’s the point. why live in a city if you want peace and quiet? im being serious. the best part of living in a city is that it’s loud and obnoxious.
*rob*
Very well said agentofthesquid. I could write exactly the same about my block, which is also in Bed-Stuy.
I don’t get the hostility toward the OP here, and I don’t believe the Gentrifiers Are Bad, So Romanticize The Existing Culture logic.
Loud street noise isn’t harmless. It stresses everyone out, makes it look like other bad behavior is tolerated and is particularly hard on children, who need to be able to sleep and do homework in peace. On my block in Bed Stuy there is a strong culture of quiet-keeping that existed long before I got here. I am more than happy to occasionally enforce it even though I am a white gentrifying newcomer, and even though loud music doesn’t particularly irritate me. I don’t call 311 for me. I do it for everyone else on the block–for the collective good. I do it because that’s what people on my block do.
Get involved with your block association, see what other people think. Don’t assume that everyone is accepting it just because they have lived here longer or are a different color than you or whatever. And even if you are in the minority, I still think that noise is reasonable to complain about because it’s not a victimless crime. My black neighbors hate loud music a *lot* more than I do. They feel like it can thrust a block into chaos, and I have walked on enough blocks in my neighborhood to believe them and work with them to keep the block nice. If a white person were the first citizen on my block to come up with this idea that noise is an important quality of life issue, they wouldn’t be any less right.
I think it’s important not to make any assumptions about the culture you’re living in. I also think it’s important not to stop at a kind of lazy tolerance. It’s more respectful to work actively to make a community good.
I had a feeling I wouldn’t get much support, but I do appreciate Crownlfc’s suggestions. I am working on doing some of those things but will do more. However, I’m not a “condescending gentrifier.” I just think that if there is a big sign that says “Quiet Zone,” then that means no loud music and that I should have some leverage in trying to keep it down on the weekends. But I also don’t want to get into any fights. Putnamdenizen, I didn’t know this specifically was an issue. And I also didn’t know it would bother me so much – I lived on a noisy street before, but it was noisy because of traffic (which is a constant and which I got accustomed to), not because of unpredictable people. Anyway, I will talk to my neighbors and see how they feel and what they think can be done. Otherwise I will find ways that I can get myself more accustomed to it.
are we talking about sunset park here?
fugggetaboutit…..wait till summertime!!!!!