Originally posted (in slightly modified form) at Ecotality.com on June 26, 2007.
On July 1st that sound you don't hear will be a quieter New York City. City officials have targeted that date for new regulations governing various annoying noises, from jackhammers to barking dogs to music to ice-cream trucks, to go into take effect. These regulations are the first revisions to the city's noise code in more than thirty years.
Even Mister Softee will have to keep it down: The ice-cream chain must now stop playing its maddening jingle — the tinkling tune that gets stuck in your head — when the trucks are stopped in residential areas.
Yikes! The Mister Softee theme?! This is serious!
Can a 24/7 city, regarded by many to be the cultural capital of the planet, actually be quiet?
"Last time I checked, this is New York," said Erik Foss, owner of a bar and gallery called Lit in Manhattan's East Village. "I don't know how you make it quiet around here. It wouldn't be New York if it were silent."
But noise complaints have increased steadily in recent years, from 38,660 in 2005, to 41,856 in 2006. Noise is currently the city hotline's top gripe, beating out construction, barking dogs and loud air conditioners.
On a recent weekend, 4,942 calls about noise - a record – were fielded by the city.
"Noise is so pervasive in the city that people don't even realize it's happening," said Robyn Gershon, a Columbia University expert on occupational health and safety. "But it affects your health. It has a cardiovascular impact, causes sleep deprivation. Plus, you can go deaf."
To put the matter – and danger – in perspective, the Environmental Protection Agency declares that human ears should not be consistently exposed to greater than 75 decibels. Heavy city traffic is clocks in at 85 decibels, an ambulance siren jacks the score to 120, while the subway trains average in the 90s. Bad news for anyone who values his or her hearing.
New York City officials point out that the new regulations feature a sensible approach they believe will result in fewer summonses, and a lot less noise.
The obsolete code relied on a more subjective noise measure, wherein a ticket could be issued if the offending noise was considered unreasonable to an individual of "normal sensibility." The revamped code says a bar or club can be ticketed if music is "plainly audible" to a police officer or enforcement agent a mere fifteen feet outside the establishment.
Fines for a first offense – which range from $3,200 to $8,000 - can be waived once an establishment commits to a plan to reduce the noise.
"I think it allows the nightclub to continue to be a great place to hear good music. It's just, the music has to stay in the club," said Emily Lloyd, city commissioner of environmental protection.
Whether it be a construction site, a barking dog, or bar whose DJ's spinning spills out into the neighboring street, New Yorkers are on notice.
"We can't turn New York City into Grover's Corners," Lloyd acknowledged. Instead, "we're trying to help create a good balance."
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