The temperature is rising, the sun is setting later and New Yorkers are spilling out of their cramped apartments and onto the streets.
Summer is the season for block parties, barbecues, outdoor concerts and late-night hangs on brownstone stoops. It’s also the time of year when air conditioners are blasting, fireworks are popping, private planes are jetting off to the Hamptons and the Mister Softee jingle chimes throughout neighborhoods across the city.
In other words, summer is loud. Whether you are a noise maker or a noise hater, Gothamist has your survivor’s guide.
What do city rules say is too loud?
According to the local noise code, “excessive and unreasonable noises” are prohibited when they are “a menace to public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare and the prosperity of the people of the city.” There are different decibel limits, depending on the type of noise. Construction sites have one noise limit, while your neighbor playing a speaker on the sidewalk has another.
Here’s a little known fact: New York citizens can actually issue their own summonses to businesses that violate noise rules — and pocket a portion of the fine. Last year, NBC 4 found a Queens man who issued more than 2,000 noise summonses — much to the dismay of the cash-strapped restaurants and bars subjected to his complaints. The City Council later passed a bill that capped the amount of money New Yorkers can earn from citizen complaints to between $10 and $50. It took effect earlier this year.
What should I do if I think someone or something is too darn loud?
Option 1: Talk it out
One way to lower the volume in your neighborhood is to simply ask. If a group is right outside your window, blaring music late into the night, start by asking politely if they’ll turn it down.
If that doesn’t work, or if it happens regularly, the city offers free, confidential and voluntary mediation for all kinds of neighborhood disputes, including noise complaints. The NYC 311 website lists information for groups that will help you to work through conflicts about noise in all five boroughs. The city also has a program specifically to help residents navigate disputes with restaurants, bars and other nightlife venues, called Mediating Establishment and Neighbor Disputes (MEND) NYC. You can request mediation through MEND NYC by emailing [email protected].
Option 2: File a noise complaint
Gothamist reached out to see what noises city residents are hearing. We heard from several New Yorkers who say they filed noise complaints to report loud power washing in Astoria, leaf blowers in Brooklyn and parties. A mom with two young kids in Greenpoint said she had reached out to 311 about a nearby event space that has started hosting electronic dance music concerts. She said she can feel the bass pumping inside her home.
If the noise has gotten out of hand and the softer solutions above don’t work, you can file an official noise complaint. There are a few ways to do it. You can call 311, the city’s non-emergency number. You can file a complaint online through the city’s 311 portal. Or, you can download the NYC 311 app and report the noise on your smartphone.
Whichever way you choose, the process is pretty straightforward. You’ll tell 311 what kind of noise you’re hearing (e.g. residential, commercial, construction), where the sound is coming from, when you heard it and whether it’s a recurring problem. Police are supposed to check on the area within eight hours. You can check the status of your complaint online or on the app, and you can also see if other people have filed complaints about the same location.
What if I just want to let loose and make some noise?
Cities are known to be noisy. New York is called the city that never sleeps for a reason. But Brooklyn native Xochitl Gonzalez noted in a 2022 essay in The Atlantic that some parts of the city have grown less tolerant of loudness, especially gentrifying neighborhoods.
“[O]ne person’s loud is another person’s expression of joy,” she wrote.
If you want to celebrate the summer with noise, you might need a permit. The city requires sound permits for events with amplified sound. You can fill out this form and drop it off at your local NYPD precinct. For street festivals, block parties and other big events on public streets, sidewalks and plazas, you can apply online for a special permit. The city asks you to apply 60 days ahead of time. Musicians who want to perform on the street typically don’t need a permit, according to the city, but might need one if they’re using a loudspeaker or megaphone. You do technically need one to perform in a park. Be prepared to pay a modest fee.
Rashaan Brown, director of community wellness for the Brooklyn group We Build the Block, said he’s watched police respond to loud gatherings on multiple occasions, including at celebrations of life for people who have died.
“People in my community get mad when we having a good time, listening to music and then the police want to shut it down, and it's like, yo, we not even having no violence,” said Brown, who is from East New York and works to promote community safety across the borough.
Brown said he typically advises people to turn down the volume in these types of situations, to de-escalate any tension and appease whoever’s upset by the noise. He said he wants to be respectful of elderly neighbors and parents with young children. He recommended that people who want quiet should approach someone like him who will be receptive to a request to lower the decibel, instead of just screaming at the crowd.
But Brown said weekend nights in the summer — when most people don’t have to get up early the next day — are an important time to unwind. He said some people opt to take a ticket rather than lower the music when police come.
“Let us have these two days to really enjoy life,” he said.
