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I'm glad you've lived my life, live here and know exactly what has gone on or why we're here right right now, bigjake54. You must know all about everyone else on this thread who has posted about this problem. I'm glad you know exactly what steps I've taken as well and what's gone on every time we've tried things to deal with this. What a shame you still won't say what your magical solution is. There are many that would love to hear it.
Well, at the risk of sounding harsh, we DO know that you have been unwilling to research these things yourself. You are instead posing more questions, failing to follow through on what has been said already.
I have found this usually to be the case with tenant problems here - hard to understand given the enormous body of information that is available. I suppose it is "easier" to just keep asking for others to provide answers.
Well, at the risk of sounding harsh, we DO know that you have been unwilling to research these things yourself. You are instead posing more questions, failing to follow through on what has been said already.
I have found this usually to be the case with tenant problems here - hard to understand given the enormous body of information that is available. I suppose it is "easier" to just keep asking for others to provide answers.
I'm sorry...what? I have spent the last year researching, writing, posting in places, talking to people, making calls. I have done all I can, but if there's more, then I'll do it. I looked last night into the EPA thing you mentioned as I've never heard or seen it mentioned before for these situations, and I came up blank as far as how they can help with this. However, I plan on looking again later to see if there's anything out there. I asked you for some info last night about what you mentioned, and you said nothing. If you know of what branch of the EPA handles this or who I should be calling there to get started on whatever they can do, IF they can do anything, I and others would appreciate the guidance.
I am not a tenant, I live in a private family house we have had since the 50s. The other houses that cause these issues are also private houses that are rented out. These are not apartment buildings. This is a residential area that has gotten bad.
I did not start this thread, but I have been active on it on and off the last months along with many others. I have NEVER asked others to "provide answers" -- but I have posted what I've done if you go back and look, and I've asked for thoughts, information if others have it, and I've offered what I have. How you can say I haven't is astounding.
Again, if you have knowledge on how the EPA can help, I and others I'm sure would appreciate it. I will be looking today, but again, I have never seen anything regarding them with this issue. I've been told by everyone I've spoken to that the police and 311 are it, and I should contact representatives (which I have in spades).
What a shame you still won't say what your magical solution is. There are many that would love to hear it.
You needed to deal with the problem yourself, when it first developed. If that entailed taking an assault or criminal mischief charge, so be it. That wasn't done, now you're knee deep in it, and think that there's some magic solution. There isn't. You're done. Find another place to live. Oh, and have a nice day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by stubbs123
I have NEVER asked others to "provide answers"
What's the difference between 'solutions' and 'answers'?
You needed to deal with the problem yourself, when it first developed. If that entailed taking an assault or criminal mischief charge, so be it. That wasn't done, now you're knee deep in it, and think that there's some magic solution. There isn't. You're done. Find another place to live. Oh, and have a nice day!
What's the difference between 'solutions' and 'answers'?
I realize now that you're assuming a timeline different than what I'm talking about or wrote about this week and the past. You're also taking something I wrote about out of context from it's larger timeline. I've discussed many things in this thread, so I understand that you may just be going by what you assume has happened vs what really has. However, your assumptions of events and timelines are very incorrect, and there's no reason to rehash yet again. If you look at my posts you'll see some of the answers to your incorrect assumptions. I defended myself the other morning when accused by someone else of not taking action or researching when that was furthest from the truth.
What I can't be generous in understanding is your attitude and rudeness or why. There's no reason to behave like that towards others.
How about a hashtag dedicated to this issue? We can cross-publicize it with other relevant hashtags (e.g., tweeter feed of city officials, departments, politicians & media organizations,) blogs and forums.
Even if you think that the power of social media is over-romanticized, something is better than nothing.
Also, bad block/building reputation = lower rent/resale potential for landlords/developers. We should get them on our side.
I wonder what would happen if there are better communication channels for coordination so that complaints won't be misunderstood to be isolated whining.
If a lot of people in the same building, block or hood are communicating via a mailing list or forum, for example, they can isolate the few bad apples and convey their concerns more effectively. (You can post a few posters or leave notes on the door of your neighbors to get this going.) If landlords comprehend that frequent recycling of their rental properties is not because of general discontent or vague noise complaints but the acts of a few bad apples, we are increasing the chance of them doing something about it.
Last edited by AManFromMannahatta; 08-08-2014 at 11:53 AM..
I think a mass (hopefully) hastag campaign is a great idea. It may get attention where individual letters and calls don't. When I tried tweeting the mayor and another rep to followup my communications, I got nowhere, but I was just one person.
Where I am, I don't think anyone who rents to others cares about high turnaround, as they're renting to people who are often considered undesirable for better areas. So while things have gotten to the point where there's no real hope of the neighborhood going back to what it once was (though you can say that about most of the Bronx, I guess), it would be nice if we knew we could call 311 and have something actually done so there would be some peace. While we have plans to leave in the near future once we're in a position to buy elsewhere, living with this has been so difficult that I feel sick knowing anyone has to deal with it. The problem won't end for the decent homeowners and renters that are still around when we go, including my own mother.
People I had written included the mayor, police commissioner, a local rep, the public advocate, borough president, and a few senators. There are others and media out there that could be tweeted to, plus local reps for each person affected. If others affected by this problem think this is a good idea, perhaps we could all come up with a list of people and some hastags? There's a lack of manpower and enforcement, but of course, there's also a lack of common decency with people who do this stuff to start with. There are a wide range of issues that can be tweeted to representatives of different kinds.
I think we could pull this off if people are willing.
What I can't be generous in understanding is your attitude and rudeness or why. There's no reason to behave like that towards others.
Hey, I'm not the one blasting music all night outside your house. You've missed the entire point, which is that you need to solve your own problems. All the letters and phone calls in the world, won't do that. You want someone else to solve your problems. By now, you should have realized that that is not going to happen.
New York City does have a noise code. It is there because people deserve to have a peaceful place of residence. It is always best to talk with your neighbors and try to explain there is music or other noise coming into your apartment and request some consideration from the noisy neighbor first and be as diplomatic as possible. Be aware that some people might not be aware of how thin the walls or floors are or have never lived in an apartment building before or are hard of hearing but sometimes people don't have the luxury to speak casually with their neighbors due to their own disabilities or medication side effects and in this case, a superintendent or management should definitely intervene. Police can definitely issue summonses as the noise code has been revamped and made more enforceable in 2005 Under the right conditions the fines can get expensive too. Police are more likely to respond if there are multiple calls. Often there are more urgent matters they need to attend to so they may not show when you first need them so following up with building management, supers, complaint numbers and community boards are just a start to remedy this problem. There are even neighborhood organizations who may mediate discussions about this or have groups who are already fighting the problem. If the problem continues and the management finds out the noise is breaking the warranty of habitability for another tenant or is simply breaking the city noise codes the offending tenant can also get evicted from their apartment which can be a long process but is possible and has happened because creating an unsafe condition that is detrimental to someone's health is a lease violation. Loud tenants make the value of the building go down and no management wants that so if there are enough complaints something will be done. Often a letter from the management can make the noisy tenant be more considerate as I have seen in my building. Unfortunately, there will usually need to be a good amount of followup involved because there is a lot of old and ignorant thinking about this and it all comes down to money. Now that property managers can charge more for their apartments they are not going to want to lose income from a good tenant or resale value on their investment because of a noisy tenant. If you have a smartphone you can also get a noise meter app downloaded to your phone, some are free. Finally, if nothing else works, keep a record of when, how long, the kind of noise and how intense the noise was in case further action is necessary just use cautiously, no one will want to hear that 95 decibels of music came into you apartment but they will want to hear that it was above legal levels and you can prove it, also, if possible, get a witness to the problem and find a housing lawyer because then your building's management can be held responsible.
Basically, New York City has an accepted noise level that is clearly defined and can be measured (I believe it can go up to 88 decibels) but noise created from many ordinary speakers can go beyond the acceptable noise levels and especially if it's making someone sick, an individual should make complaints to 311 record their complaint number, bring it to their community board and building management so that everyone can learn to live in this city with respect for the diversity of other people.
I'd like to see some public service announcements about New York's noise problem perhaps explaining to all noisy tenants, neighbors and guests, the loud music that they may be enjoying just may be destroying another person's health, waking children, teaching really bad habits, showing serious inconsideration, perpetuating negative stereotypes, showing lack of respect, civility and creating an amazingly poor impression that will be very hard to remove on top of creating an unhealthy environment and likely breaching leases.
Also, I think you guys have great ideas about contacting local politicians. I think that may well be the best way to make a real difference.
Last edited by TRM2; 10-04-2014 at 01:48 AM..
Reason: I missed a point and wanted to acknowledge that.
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