It's 5 AM and my idiot neighbor's party is blasting music

[HamdenRice]

I can't believe these people. They are kind of new in a neighborhood where most of us have known each other for 30+ years. Every summer, they have outdoor parties (I think they are pay parties) with a dj screaming over the microphone and bad, bad Caribbean dub music. It's about as loud as a very loud construction jack hammer and about as musical. I called the cops at 2 am (actually the city quality of life number, 311 which in turn called the precinct) and miraculously the cops arrived at 2:30 and told them to turn the music down. By 2:32 am the cops had left and they turned the music back up. I called 311 again and the precinct, but they never returned.

I'm thinking of setting up a website. Something like 204stNoisyResident.blogspot.com and posting a picture of their house. No, first, I'm going to write an anonymous letter to them and everyone in the neighborhood suggesting that we have zero tolerance for this particular house and its parties, giving everyone instrucions on how to contact 311 and the local precinct, asking whether anyone knows their number or names and referring respondents to the letter to the website for input.

All my old neighbors hate these people, but no one except me apparently actually complains to the city about them. Tomorrow, I'm sure, they will all be gossiping over our backyard fences, but no one does anything about it or even knows who these people are.

How would you organize your neighbors and embarass the assholes if they lived across the street from you?

[OneBlueSky]

1. maybe have a group of neighbors approach the offenders . . .

to explain their complaints and seek a solution . . . if they won't work with you and persist, set up some competing speakers over which you broadcast completely different music whenever their's is playing . . . and just as loudly . . . they'll get tired of it real quick . . .

[HamdenRice]

2. We're definitely not the noisy types

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I will talk to my neighbors about actually doing something. Playing loud music won't work though because we're all trying to sleep when they start their parties. None of us know these people, but maybe we should approach them as a group. I just thought writing an embarassing letter was less confrontational, but I think you're right.

[katmondoo]

3. Play it when they are trying to sleep or

play it at odd hours, dinner time or early Sunday Morning or then again after their party ends and THEY want to sleep.

[HamdenRice]

5. Two wrongs don't make a right

I just have a thing against this approach, which in law is called "self help". When I lived in an apartment, I had a noisy upstairs neighbor and tried this, and all that happens is escalating noise attacks and no one gets sleep.

In a residential neighborhood, I would end up disturbing people other than them and who have no dog in this fight. Well actually they do, because they are complaining privately also.

Now that I am back in my old neighborhood, I think embarassment and humiliation of the "newcomer" would work better, backed up by resort to the authorities. But I'm open to pursuasion.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. Organizing the neighbors would be my first approach.

Often the ones who don't want to get involved are afraid they'd be the only ones taking a stand. The embarassing letter could very easily be interpreted as one malcontent and easily ignored by the party hosts, where as a group of neighbors showing up at your door would have a very different effect, especially if you are calm and reasonable in your firm request.

[CrushTheDLC]

4. I had neighbors like that when I was a kid.

They had a weekend kegger every summer with a live band. It was so fucking loud that it drowned out the noise from the skating rink a couple blocks away.

My parents hated the noise, but I thought it was cooler than shit because nobody gave a shit who was hitting the keg (this was in my teenage years, naturally)

So unfortunately, I never thought about how to organize against such people. Unless you live in a redneck town and can convince them that it's a gay pride rally or something else that redneck cops might find offensive.

[HereSince1628]

6. The answer may be noise cancelling headphones...

But the solution is to give the cops a bigger bribe.

[HamdenRice]

9. "Officer Down! Officer Down!"

Back in the 80s when the cops didn't even pretend to give a shit, that was how people called the police when they were really desperate. Basically, they would only respond if they thought one of their own had been injured.

Of course, if you could be identified from the call you risked being arrested for making a false report to the police. So this was always done from a pay phone.

[Cobalt-60]

7. Reggie Wilson's Hammond Organ Hits

Looped and 125 Db.
Be sure to warn the old neighbors to take shelter.

[TheMightyFavog]

8. How very Rimmer-esque of you.

May I suggest sneaking in as they sleep, stealing all of their food and replacing it with sprouts?

[radwriter0555]

10. You need to go to city hall and the police department and check zoning

laws and disturbing the peace laws and nuisance neighbor laws.

If the city doesn't avail you to any solutions, you should take them to small claims court...

Good luck.

[Darth_Kitten]

11. Keep calling the police.......

they have no right to do what they are doing.......

[HamdenRice]

12. DU MY RANT !!! Please! my blogspot about my idiot neighbors

Even though I've never gotten around to using my political blog on blogspot (I got lazy and use the DU journal), I was so angry (plus I couldn't sleep or watch TV from 2 am till 6 because of their music) I created a special purpose rant/blog and on-line petition for my neighbors.

Please go and make comments to my open letter to the neighborhood. Maybe when the idiot neighbors get a copy of the letter, they will look at the blog and think your comments are from my neighbors, who are probably too passive to go online and sign.

Hope this makes sense; I'm so sleepy I can barely see straight.



It's called NoisyIdiots204St.blogspot.com: Here it is:

http://noisyidiots204st.blogspot.com/

[Darth_Kitten]

13. What should we write?

"It's bad enough that the loser owner keeps hitting on me but the idiot cannot see that he is a public nuisance?"

I want to be creative yet helpful.

[NashVegas]

14. Crash the Party

Drink some Red Bull and go on over. Have several other neighbors do the same. If you're questioned, smile and tell them you couldn't sleep over the noise so decided to join in. Make sure you all look geeky and unhip to be around. Wear clothes that have been in the hamper for two days or more, and CIRCULATE.

[begin_within]

15. Get a very bright light (mercury vapor) and install it as close to their

yard as you can on the edge of your roof, and turn it on so it floods their yard with light as well as yours. This will ruin the ambiance of their party and if they complain and ask you to turn it off, tell them you have to keep it on because you're worried about prowlers.

[begin_within]

16. When they are not home, toss handfuls of brown sugar over the fence into

their yard - this will attract lots of ants to their yard. Spray a little bit of water over the fence too. This will bring out the ants. Use Terro ant bait around your house if ants bother you.

[begin_within]

17. Get a couple bags of steer manure and keep them handy. When they have

a party, open the bags and spread them out along the bottom of the fence on your side. This will create an unpleasant odor which will last all night. Naturally you will need to keep your windows closed to avoid it.

[tuvor]

19. I believe fish manure is stinkier.

[begin_within]

20. I've never seen that sold - eeew!

[tuvor]

23. Sorry. I'm stupid.

Fish FERTILIZER, not manure. (But it's still smells revolting.)

:blush:

[begin_within]

24. That sounds like nice stuff to decorate their yard with (after dark)

[rug]

21. Where are you going to get steer manure in Hollis, Queens?

[begin_within]

22. Don't they have Home Depot or Lowe's or any place with a garden shop?

Steer manure is commonly sold in garden shops as a lawn fertilizer.

[struggle4progress]

25. OK, this is difficult to do but -- try very hard to keep it pleasant.

You want, if possible, their cooperation; while you need to be prepared for the fact that you may not get their cooperation, you are better off acting at first as if you believe everyone is reasonable and wants to get along.

If they think you think they're assholes, then they'll probably decide you're an asshole and are very likely to let you know it, too. It's pretty easy to go from nice to nasty and much harder to go the other way.

Decide exactly what reasonable thing you want from them (no loud noise after your kids bedtime?) and figure out how to ask nicely. You want your request to be short, direct, and non-accusatory.

(1) Start by talking to them.

Bring along an entirely silent witness (wife or neighbor), who you introduce but who says absolutely nothing. The witness's real (but unannounced) jobs are (1) provide a constant smile smile smile and (2) (if things get out of hand) be able to testify truthfully that, no, you didn't insult them or spit on their carpet or kick their cat.

Try not to get side-tracked too much: a touch of polite blather is harmless, but it's not the only or even the main objective. Keep your tone gentle and don't make any threats: don't theaten to call the police and don't cite city ordinances. Should the conversation deteriorate, just walk away, resisting any temptation to escalate.

Ask for their phone number explaining you would like to call if the party is too loud too late. If they don't give you the phone number, get it some other way. The next time there's a loud party, call and ask nicely them to turn down the volume. If that doesn't work, go to the house with your silent witness and repeat the request pleasantly. If that still doesn't work, suffer one night, and write them a pleasant letter, repeating the request. Then try to organize a small delegation of neighbors to visit: again, you don't want everybody talking; you want witnesses, and you want to keep it pleasant.

Document everything like this you do: get a book; write down when call, when you knock on their door, and save copies of the letters. If further letters are required, send them return reciept requested. It may help to talk to a lawyer.

(2) The police usually don't like to get involved unless the neighbors have made an effort to work it out. Go down to the police station and explain that you have an repeating situation, that nothing seems to work, and that you may need the help and advice of the police. Learn the city code. Get a noise meter and measure the noise at the property line. Keep records. Don't call the police until you have called and visited to complain about the noise. If repeated phone calls need to be made, it will be more effective if they come from several different houses.