Noisy Neighbors

I’ve lived in my apartment for 9 years. The "backyard" of the apartment building is adjacent to the backyard of a neighbor, who uses the space to have huge, loud parties that go until all hours of the morning at least twice a month. The other people in my building have all called in noise complaints, but when the cops show up, the partiers turn down the volume for about half an hour, then crank it back up again. We can’t just go over there and tell them to turn it down ourselves during the day, because it’s not our building and we’re not sure who the culprit is. Is there something else we can do?
Fed Up in Williamsburg

Gothamist’s bedroom window faces a courtyard where sounds from all the neighboring buildings echo and magnify… so, yeah, we sympathize.

The first step is to call 311, but since these people are clearly not backing down, perhaps some more drastic action is in order.

First, start keeping track of the parties. Keep a record of when they happen, maybe how late they run until or any other shady behavior – if there is property damage, for instance. Then find out who owns the building and send them a letter listing all of the information you’ve gathered and asking them to reprimand whichever renter is causing the problem. It might help to get the signatures of neighbors who have also voiced a complaint. (It would also help if you knew who was causing the problem, but starting off with a letter to the building owner is a good step.)

There are a couple of other steps you can take. For ongoing noise complaints, the NYPD recommends calling the Department of Environmental protection at (718)337-4357. Further, you could threaten the building owners with legal action, but it’s probably wiser to leave that to the DEP who frequently deals with these kinds of complaints.

See also Gothamist’s advice on your neighbor’s dog that won’t stop barking.