Mayor de Blasio wants the Big Apple to be the city that never screams.
Hizzoner on Friday said he plans to introduce new measures in 2019 to reduce noise across neighborhoods, and said he wants the police to have more tools to issue summonses or confiscate equipment when tenants get too rowdy with their music.
“The fact is, there’s too much noise in this city. I want to come forward in 2019 with some new plans for how we reduce the amount of noise in New York City ‘cause we have to,” de Blasio said during his weekly appearance on WNYC radio.
His comments came in response to a caller named Lauren, who said a noisy neighbor in her Bronx apartment building was driving her nuts and she summoned cops 15 times.
She says the officers maintained they were powerless to do more than issue warnings.
The mayor replied that he’d like a more “muscular approach” for the NYPD when dealing with noise complaints, but said it would require legislative changes in the City Council or in Albany.
“I think if someone consistently creates noise — late at night for example — that’s disturbing their neighbors, a warning is the ideal to resolve it,” de Blasio said.
“But if a warning’s not working, there has to be other ways to have consequences. And I do think even such an idea as confiscating equipment if there’s a repeat offender is a fair point.”
In July, the de Blasio administration said it was studying siren noises in other countries to see whether there were quieter alternatives to the blaring fire engine, ambulance and police car sirens that are used here.
City Hall officials didn’t immediately respond when asked about the status of that review.