Uptown Politician Releases Plan To Combat Noise: What To Know

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — A residential parking permit program, the banning of any nonessential helicopter flights, and an update to the New York City noise code are just three of the steps an Upper Manhattan politician says he would take to combat the growing noise pollution issue across the city.

On Tuesday, Council Member Mark Levine, who is also running for Manhattan Borough President, released 10 steps he would take if elected to the position that would "curb excessive noise pollution and noise nuisance in our communities."

Levine, who represents a southern section of Washington Heights along with Harlem, Morningside Heights, and the Upper West Side, referenced the recently published series of recommendations to address noise and dirt bike use by current Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

He also made sure to mention the work of the Washington Heights Inwood Taskforce on Noise and the WaHi and Inwood for Respectful Decibel Levels Facebook group — both of which recently released their own plans of dozens of recommendations to limit excessive noise.

"By political leaders like Mark Levine taking up this issue, it says to the community: 'I see you. I hear you. And I want to figure this out with you," said Tanya Bonner, the Chair of the WaHi-Inwood Task Force on Noise.

The city has seen an uptick in noise-related complaints since the beginning of the pandemic, but there has been an even more noticeable surge around the issue in the Upper Manhattan community of Washington Heights and Inwood.

Complaints in Northern Manhattan have revolved around everything from music lasting late into the night to the revving of car engines and dirt bikes to the Mister Softee jingle playing for hours on end.

"Extreme decibel levels have been an overwhelming health and safety issue this past year, as you can read in over 200 heartbreaking impact statements on our website," said Claudia Schaer and Wendy Guardado, from WaHi and Inwood for Respectful Decibel Levels. "We are very pleased that this plan incorporates so many recommendations that have arisen in our 1200-member group."

Here is the full set of steps Levine says he would take to combat noise issues if he were elected Manhattan Borough President.

1. "Develop a residential parking permit program to reduce noise-making on residential streets. A residential parking permit program will also curtail out-of-town cars in our neighborhoods, ensure residents have access to street parking, remove the unnecessary double parking and other congestion issues from our roads.
2. Develop a vehicle ticketing program via license plate instead of driver’s license for excessive noise from stereos and mufflers.
3. Study the deployment of noise-sensing technology to measure decibels and identify areas of need.
4. Expand speed and red-light cameras and keep them operational 24/7 to help ensure speed laws are obeyed at all times.
5. Fund community-building campaigns designed to inform New Yorkers about the fire and safety dangers of fireworks, as well as the health impacts of excessive noise.
6. Push to ban all non-essential helicopter flights that cause unnecessary noise pollution in Manhattan.
7. Increase the cost of summonses, and fine gas stations to better discourage the use of illegal ATVs and dirtbikes, and discourage gas stations from allowing ATVs and dirt bikes to fill up without being on a trailer.
8. Audit and update 311 to make the app multilingual and to better identify multiple reports for the same issue.
9. Update the City noise code to better reflect the needs of communities, specify the types of technologies that are available to monitor sound, and detail types of activity that are contributing most to our soundscape.
10. Deploy traffic calming devices to slow traffic and make high speeds impossible in hotspots that experience sharp increases in drag racing activity."