Police broke up a group of cars gathering and playing music at the Forest Park Bandshell parking lot in April.(Council Member Robert Holden)
Oct. 31, 2019 By Allie Griffin
Council Members Robert Holden and Paul Vallone introduced a bill yesterday that would increase fines for noise violations.
The bill specifically targets car owners who blast their stereo systems. It would increase the fine for a first offense from $100 to $200 and the fine for a third offense from $1,000 to $2,1000.
Both Holden and Vallone have received numerous complaints from their constituents regarding disruptive music and have met with the NYPD to discuss increased enforcement of noise complaints.
“For too long, car owners with vehicles equipped with excessive sound systems have congregated in our parks and public spaces and disturbed quality of life for New York City residents,” Council Member Vallone said. “Doubling these noise penalties will pressure drivers to think twice about being a bad neighbor and send a clear message that this quality of life disruption will not be tolerated.”
The bill is the latest measure to thwart Queens drivers from blasting music from inside their cars.
In April, the NYPD increased enforcement at Forest Park to crack down on gatherings of parked cars blasting music from inside the park and in July the Parks Department installed a gate at the entrance to the bandshell parking lot to curb unruly behavior.
Holden’s office had received several complaints from nearby residents that the music from the park was too loud and worked with the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct to thwart the noise levels.
“We are fortunate enough to have more space and quieter neighborhoods in the outer boroughs,” Council Member Holden said in a statement. “That is why my constituents are frustrated when car audio enthusiasts congregate in parking lots and blast music that can be heard from miles away.”
“My hope is that increasing the fine for such behavior will act as a deterrent and make people be more considerate of the neighborhoods around them,” he added.
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28 Comments
Motorcycles are way more obnoxious
people are so bored with their own lives including the officials why not work with us car audio enthusiasts and work something out .noise complaint? how about the freaking sirens we gotta hear at all times of the day
All I’m gunna say, leave NY while you still can it’s gunna get a whole lot worse, slowly but surely becoming exactly like CA
We will gladly not go there anymore, what we ask is give us a place to go.
It’s crazy how another freedom is taking away u can’t go to hunts point and blast music and now a park where there a lot of open space and no one lives they city has a problem too trying to make people pay so the city can rob us for more money..they need to leave us alone and worry about real crimes like what other freedom are they gonna try to take it’s like us as people live in a big jail unable to do anything not even something that doesn’t hurt no one physically
How do you live in the city and complain about noise? You want quiet move to the country.
No worries. There is another level of volume for the ones in the back. Music is a form of ‘freedom of speech’ I’ll crank it up one time for the one time.
My (thug Pistons) are my way of life. It’s my escape from the world. It’s my sanity. Those days the world has beaten me to the breaking point all I have to do is sink in my driver seat, run those knobs right and let those sub sonic low hertz shake the bad days away. A Bass car is no worse than a plane, train or truck. We come, we go, then we’re gonne. Leave us alone.
Well they should just shut down Music festivals and parades and outdoors concerts too. They annoy me as well. Start shutting it all down . it always starts with a small situation. You live in a city. If you want quiet go live on a farm. Lol
I would fully expect loud vehicles to be controlled as well. Straight piped vehicles which operate without mufflers are much more annoying later at night because they produce noise at a much more audible frequency. Same goes for motorcycles. Loud is also a perception based off of the individual opinion. So it cannot be proven. Good luck on this one.
The disheveled Man playing guitar for hours at 63rd Drive & Queens Blvd, Rego Park Mall, how does one get him to go elsewhere? He plays the same songs with an amplifier and speaker, he went away for a few months BUT he is back. Please don’t put money in his pail. Anyone have suggestions to get rid of him? Thanks
You are funny. You disturb thousands of people that live around the park and call it a discrimination when someone is trying to put a stop to it… Do you expect a pat on the back or something?
What rights? No one has a right to disturb other people.
“Audio enthusiasts” = thugs and antisocials who want to feel big and powerful by torturing others with their “music”.
Good. Sick of being bombarded with crap music and rude idiots in cars.
The things that are important like fixing streets, more police , traffic signs . Holden does ZERO.
Have you ever seen the Old Side of MV ? Ridgewood Post you should really see the tale of two cities
But smelling weed at Astoria Park, Flushing Meadows Park, or Cunningham Park is perfectly A-okay. It’s loud music that’s the problem. DeBozo decriminalizes pot so every Tom, Dick, and Harry puffs away without penalty only feet from baby strollers, but this city is trying to implement a better quality of life. GTFO!
Lots of cities have noise ordinances at night after a certain hour. It does work to reduce noise pollution. Be respectful. Don’t be an ass and disturb neighbours if those laws are in place. Unlike a loud train, you can control the volume of your syereo
Yeah I bet you guys commenting are part of those scumbags playing music. One thing is playing music and not bothering other people. Totally different story is when you play music heard miles away at 4 am in the morning. People got work, little babies and have to deal with sleepless nights. I had to deal with those people in ozone park at stop and shop parking lot. Every weekend 10pm 4am while I go to work at 5 am. Numerous police interventions didn’t help.You don’t respect others don’t expect respect. Police should have The right to write tickets even higher than 2100
In other states they take away the boom Box asp.
What about the exhaustion pipes that sound like a bomb. One time I was driving home from BQE, a car next to me sound like a bomb explosion, I heard the car window “bling, bling, bling” , it startled me and I almost lost control, I held the wheel so tight in order to drive straight. The city should give tickets to these drivers too.
You people that think your rights are being taken away are ridiculous. This music goes on all hours of the night when people need to sleep. They brought this on themselves for being inconsiderate of most of the community.
David H-Put on headphones, nobody wants to hear your music. What’s with the constant need for attention?
So next, they will fine Sirens used for being excessively loud, upper level trains like the L train for disturbing apt owners throughout the night. ?
Let’s get real. you know well that most of the noises come from racing cars, motorbikes , loud car radio and boom box blasting music to king dome come.
Y’all whine too much about NOTHING…Do a real Justice for the city
Then you should have a place for us stereo people to gather and meet and play music, that’s a form of discrimination
Yeah lets mess with folks who work hard to support their hobbies because it doesn’t interest. Get in our line or get taxed because we aren’t in your line. ridiculous…. Isn’t this an infringement on other peoples rights, who is to say what is or isn’t loud. Who says your opinion matters more than mine? just a way to make money……