Downtown residents are sick and tired of the noise coming from the city’s bars, and they want City Hall to do something about it.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Councilwoman Theresa Castellano hosted a standing room only meeting at City Hall on Wednesday night to inform the public about what the city is doing to combat noise, and to provide a chance for residents to voice their concerns in front of Police Chief Anthony Falco.
The City Council earlier this year passed a noise ordinance that will allow city employees (trained police officers and Hoboken Parking Utility officers) to issue summonses for noise violations. When a complaint is lodged, the city will use decibel meters to measure noise. In the past, the city would have to defer to the county to handle the complaints.
‘[There’s] a building on First and Park where the kids don’t sleep at night.’ – Resident Michael Hoey
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Zimmer added that the city is also considering a plan to keep the Parking Utility open 24/7 to support the police and to increase enforcement at night when many visitors come into town.
Sleepless nights
The majority of residents’ complaints at the meeting concerned music from certain bars, and loud patrons exiting into the city streets.
First Street resident Bryan Topham said he’s had many different police officers come into his condo and listen to the noise coming from the street level.
“I’m tired of not getting any sleep on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights,” Topham said at the meeting. “[The noise] starts at 10 p.m. and it doesn’t end until 3 a.m.”
Topham said he loves Hoboken and believes “the culture is tremendous,” but wishes the city would enforce the noise ordinance more effectively.
Another downtown resident, Ann Wopat, asked Falco to get “more boots on the ground” on First Street during the weekends.
Michael Hoey lives in a First Street building near Park Avenue, and said the noise coming from the bars at night has been a major problem.
“[There’s] a building on First and Park where the kids don’t sleep at night,” Hoey said. “If you don’t enforce the rules, it’s just a waste of time.”
He added that he loves the town’s culture. “We want to stay here, but fix it now, please,” he said to the mayor.
Another resident, Alan, who didn’t wish to give his last name, said he’s been to many community meetings about noise issues.
“If you live in this ward, on First Street or anywhere near a bar, [it’s a problem],” he said. “If you’re lucky to have an inside bedroom facing a courtyard, you can live here for 10, 15 years and not understand why there’s a problem…if you have old windows or want to leave them open, you cannot sleep.”
He added that the city should consider cutting back bar hours.
The city’s bars stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends, but new patrons cannot enter after 2 a.m. Those already in the bar can stay until 3.
The process
The new system will work as follows: a resident calls a central number. The complaint will be routed to a supervisor in the Parking Utility, the police department, or another office that handles noise complaints. Then, the supervisor will dispatch officers who are trained to investigate noise complaints.
The city will also keep track of where the majority of the complaints are originating from.
Enforcement is expected to pick up once training is completed and the new phone system is in place.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com