Noise Complaints Have a Very Familiar Ring by Stephen Geffon - Leader-Observer

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Noise complaints topped the list of quality-of-life issues raised by residents at last week’s crowded 106th Precinct Community Council meeting in Ozone Park.

A resident of 128th Street in South Richmond Hill, who declined to give her name, pleaded with police for help in silencing the ear-splitting music coming from her next-door neighbor’s stereo every night. She added that another neighbor sits outside his house drinking rum and blaring his stereo on the street.

The resident told 106th Precinct commanding officer Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis that in the 29 years she has lived on the block it was never as bad as it is now. “We really need help here,” she said.

She added that one of the neighbors she was complaining about was fined $1,000 last year for the same offense, but he apparently forgot about the penalty the court imposed on him and picked up where he left off last summer. Courtesis said police officers would be dispatched to the location immediately.

But noisy neighbors don’t just live on 128th Street. A South Ozone Park resident living on 125th Street near 116th Avenue complained about loud music blaring from his neighbor’s residence. Courtesis said the problem would be addressed by police.

Suspicious persons

A Lindenwood resident asked for increased police patrols in the community in light of suspicious people in the area and reported break-ins in some of the condominium apartments.

Courtesis said if the co-op and condominium management companies would sign no trespassing depositions precinct officers would go into the buildings and question individuals in the hallways. Courtesis also requested a list of the tenants.

The resident also asked that police once again enforce the stop sign violations in the community as they did in February and March, as vehicles are again speeding through intersections, endangering pedestrians and other vehicles on the road.

Block parties

Courtesis explained that if there have been problems at the previous year's block party, the precinct will use this as documentation to refuse a block party permit. He noted that this year, out of about 100 requests for block party permits, about 30 were rejected.

The inspector said that many times block party organizers whose permit was rejected will bypass the precinct and community board 10 and contact the Mayor’s Office to try to get the rejection overturned. Courtesis said that he is then asked to explain why the permit was rejected, but recalls only one or two permits have been overturned.

Precinct-issued block party permits allow music until 7 p.m., with the block required to be reopened to traffic by 9 p.m. The permits have been issued for Saturdays only from June 15 to September 15. There are no rain dates.

In other news, Community Council President Frank Dardani reminded residents that National Night Out Against Crime will be held on Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 6 p.m. at Joseph P. Addabbo Park, located on 133rd Avenue between 81st and 83rd streets in the Tudor Village section of Ozone Park.

The 106th Precinct Community Council meets on the second Wednesday of the month, except for August and February, at the precinct station house, located at 103-51 101st St. in Ozone Park.

Read more: Leader-Observer - Noise complaints have a very familiar ring

Ulrich Cracking Down On Residential Noise By John Toscano - www.qgazette.com | Queens Gazette

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As noise complaints in residential neighborhoods continue to rise steadily, City Councilmember Eric Ulrich is introducing legislation to strengthen the city’s noise control code.

If passed, the Ozone Park Republican said, the law would provide residents with much-needed relief from loud disturbances and would close a loophole in the city’s existing noise code, under which summonses can be issued only if a “device” causes noise that is determined to be unreasonable.

Ulrich’s bill has drawn support from community leaders, including Margaret Finnerty of the Richmond Hill South Civic Association and Jonathon Gaska, district manager of Community Board 14 in Far Rockaway.

Noise Complaints Again Dominate 106th Pct Meeting by Stephen Geffon - Leader-Observer

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Thunderstorms and heavy rain did not deter community residents from attending last week’s meeting of the 106th Precinct Community Council to voice their complaints and ask the police for help.

A resident asked police to look into an unusual situation - cars driving on Crossbay Boulevard with their out-of-town plates affixed upside down. “We’ll keep our eyes open for that,” Lt. Joseph Salvato, commander of the 106th Precinct’s Special Operations unit, told the resident.

Another resident complained about cars driving through the community with their radios blaring. Although conceding that this is tough to police, Salvato said that precinct officers have issued multiple summonses for this noise law violation.

Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, added that if residents can specifically zero in on the location where the loud music is coming from, such as that the car is parked in a neighbor’s driveway, police officers would respond and take appropriate enforcement action. He added that police would also respond if cars are stopped and blaring loud music at a traffic light near a resident’s home.

A South Ozone Park homeowner complained that neighbors living on either side of her were operating auto repair businesses in the driveways of their homes for the last four years. he resident added that when the car engines have been repaired they are tested by being revved up to ear-splitting sounds

She also alleged marijuana sales at the same location near 149th Avenue and 114th Street. “It’s just getting worse,” she said

The resident’s husband said he remembers that it was so bad one summer because of the carbon monoxide fumes that he could not breathe.

Courtesis told the homeowners that he would address their problem, however, he asked for their patience since he said it would take police a little time because of certain legalities that they must go through.

Margaret Finnerty, president of the Richmond Hill South Civic Association, expressed her appreciation to Community Affairs Officer Brenda Bratcher for her recent presentation before the group. Bratcher discussed the procedures that the precinct was using to send letters to chronic noise violators.

“It’s (the letters) working, it’s starting to make an impact, I wanted to thank you,” Finnerty told Courtesis.

The letters, which were sent out by police to the homeowners/residents of the previously identified 2009 chronic noise locations, state in part that their residence has been identified as a chronic noise location by the police department.

The letter notes that numerous complaints (five or more) have been received regarding loud music from the residence and adds that all chronic locations will be monitored nightly and any violations of the City of New York’s noise code will be enforced. The letter warns that violators will be issued summonses and/or arrested, adding that stereo speakers and related sound equipment may also be confiscated.

Precinct Community Council president Frank Dardani reminded residents of the council’s National Night Out Against Crime to be held on Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 6 p.m. at Joseph P. Addabbo Park located at 133rd Avenue between 81st and 83rd streets in the Tudor Village section of Ozone Park.

The 106th Precinct Community Council meets the second Wednesday of every month, except for February and August, at the 106th Precinct station house located at 103-51 101st Street, Ozone Park.

Mayor Bloomberg Blows Top Over Food Trucks, But Watch Out, Mr. Softee - Hizzoner is Gunning for You BY Frank Lombardi and Adam Lisberg - NY Daily New

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Mayor Bloomberg said on his radio show that he's going to crack down on rogue Mr. Softee van. Goldfield for News

Get off the street!

That's Mayor Bloomberg's message to art vendors in the park, food trucks idling on the streets, street fairs clogging the avenues - and even Mr. Softee.

"The little stand is now getting to be these enormous trucks with generators," the mayor said on his WOR-AM radio show.

"We are moving stores into the street. And they sit there and they park and they take up parking places and they block traffic."

Hizzoner's rant came after host John Gambling asked about new rules that will for the first time limit the number of vendors selling paintings, photos and other First Amendment-protected material in crowded city parks.

Artist Robert Lederman, a leading critic of the move, filed a lawsuit Friday to block the new rules from taking effect July 19.

Bloomberg, however, defended the restrictions.

"You have so many vendors that they infringe on people's ability to go down the walkway and to have a quiet place to reflect and that kind of thing," he said. "Everybody else has rights too."

The mayor also backed efforts to limit the street fairs that clog up the city all summer long.

Bloomberg hinted at a looming crackdown on vendors who park for hours in front of fire hydrants or no-standing zones.

"I agree with it," he said. "We're trying another way to accomplish it."

Nothing got the mayor's goat quite like Mr. Softee, however. When Fran from Queens called the show to complain about the ice cream man blaring his maddening jingle on her corner until 10 p.m., Bloomberg rolled up his sleeves and asked for details to track down the riotous rogue.

"We're going to go after and explain the law to this Mr. Softee," he vowed.

"Fran, it can be annoying and it shouldn't happen. It is the law and we should do a better job, so just stay on and we'll get your name and phone number and I'll see if we can do something about it."

Cops Say ‘Keep it Down’ by Victor G. Mimoni- The Queens Courier

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This mountain of sound equipment was seized over the Memorial Day weekend during “Operation Confiscation” in the 106th Precinct.

Noise complaints are the most frequent “quality of life” calls to the city’s 3-1-1 help line, so cops in the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park decided to set the tone over the Memorial Day weekend.

“Operation Confiscation” was announced at the Precinct Community Council meeting on Wednesday, May 14, according to Captain Joseph Courtesis.

“We observed a surge in noise complaints to 3-1-1 and to our switchboard, and acted on them,” he said.

Courtesis and several cops under his command showed off a mountain of large speakers and electronics in front of the precinct garage at 103-53 101st Street in Ozone Park on Tuesday, May 27.

The volume violators can get their equipment back— after they settle-up with the courts and get a release from the District Attorney.

“We only confiscated the equipment if we got repeated complaints for a single location,” Courtesis explained. “We wanted to be reasonable - we asked people to turn the sound down, but they turned it back up and we had to return,” he continued.

One crew of DJ’s, with professional equipment, was warned twice before their gear was confiscated after a third visit by cops. “It was in the wee hours [of the morning] and the whole block was vibrating,” a police source said.

Cops said that even for block parties with permits, the noise level has to be reasonable, and the party’s over at 9 p.m. “But it’s really about the noise level more than the hour,” a Community Affairs officer explained.

The most notable exhibit was a so-called “boom bike.” The child’s bicycle was fitted with huge speakers, powerful solid-state amplifiers and electronics, powered by huge batteries.

“It was being operated by a 14- or 15-year-old boy who couldn’t get it out of the middle of Liberty Avenue and 111th Street at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night [May 24] — it was too heavy for him,” the source said.

The operation was declared a resounding success — noise complaints were down 16 percent and all quality-of-life issues were reduced by 20 percent, compared to last Memorial Day weekend.

It was so successful that a detective was dispatched from downtown, “to see what the hubbub was about.”

When shown the confiscated bicycle, his jaw dropped. “You could probably power my whole house on that,” he said in amazement.

Queens Chronicle - Anti-Noise Plan Unveiled By Precinct Commander by Stephen Geffon...

With the 106th Precinct’s 2007 noise plan now finalized and warning letters going out to last year’s chronic noise makers, residents are looking forward to a much quieter and more peaceful summer.

The letters, which police officers will distribute to the owners of homes often cited for their loud parties, state that the precinct has adopted a zero-tolerance noise policy.

All of those homes chronically complained about will be monitored nightly and any violations of the city’s noise code will be enforced, the letter further states. It also warns that violators will be issued summonses and that arrests and stereo confiscations may follow.

Capt. Joseph Courtesis, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, outlined his noise abatement plan at last Wednesday’s meeting of the precinct’s community council. “Noise is our number one community complaint in this precinct, and we have to address it,” he said.

Courtesis said he plans to follow up on noise complaints made through the city’s 311 system. Among other measures included in the plan are the expansion of the precinct’s anti-noise squad car’s schedule to seven days a week. Additionally, Courtesis stated that cars that are sources of excessive noise may be subject to confiscation.

“Nothing’s going to be unaddressed,” he said.

Courtesis also asked for the community’s help. He urged those who attended the meeting, held at the station house, to call the precinct’s Community Affairs unit and to let officers know when they see pitched party tents, speakers being wheeled into a home or other party preparations being made.

Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton said that she hoped that the representatives from the Chief of Patrol’s office, who were present at the meeting, recognized that Courtesis’ plan could not succeed without an adequately staffed precinct.

Margaret Finnerty, the president of the Richmond Hill South Civic Association, who has long been concerned about excessive noise in the area, commended Courtesis for his proposals. “I think that you are the first captain that came forward with an aggressive plan that sounds wonderful,” she added.

On July 1, the city’s 30-year-old noise code will be replaced by a new code. The city will decrease the decibel levels it tolerates and violators of the new standard will face increased penalties.