City Says Tour Guides Are Too Noisy, Annoy Non-Tourists

The cacophony of New York City will no longer include the noise of tour guides on open-air tour buses, if city officials have their way. The City Council has proposed that open-air tour buses should outfit their tourists with individual headsets instead of blaring tidbits like "This is where John Lennon was shot!" via a public address speakers. According to the Post, yesterday's hearing was "heated," pitting "New Yorkers living in the city's toniest neighborhoods" versus the tour operators.

City Councilwoman Gale Brewer (author of the bill) said her Upper West Side constituents "hear the voice of the guide as if the person is sitting next to them in their living room, no matter if they're on the 26th floor or the second floor," and the city's Department of Consumer Affairs also supports the bill, finding that residents' "peace and tranquility" was disrupted."

One guide said his work "should not be disregarded in favor of a privileged few who can afford to live in our city's most interesting neighborhoods," but a West Village resident complained, "There is nothing as intrusive as this. At least half of what they say is not true. It's folklore, the tour information." And one irate Little Italy resident said, "They're worse than that ice-cream truck jingle."

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By Jen Chung in News on April 13, 2010 4:22 PM

Comments [rss]

Ed

Could someone explain to me why tour busses are a good way to see a city noted for its traffic jams?

I get the Circle Line. But one of the worst experiences in New York is getting stuck in traffic in Midtown. Why would a visiter want to put himself on a bus and experience that? Do other cities also feature these open air tour busses? I don't think I've seen them anywhere but New York.

boomboompow

I've seen them in many cities. I actually took the tour in Sydney, mostly to take advantage of the hop-on hop-off. I totally understand why residents can't stand them. One of the big companies has a stop right outside my old apartment on 8th St. I hated leaving for work in the morning and seeing a bunch of tourists on vacation as my first sight of the day.

JohnnyBates

Oh please. It's perfectly reasonable to ask that companies running open air tour buses give out headsets rather than ramble on a public address system. I've seem them in San Francisco too (I'm a New Yorker) and it's ludicrous -- they rumble through Alamo Square shouting about the victorian houses with their PA speakers practically level with the bedroom windows in the neighborhood. It's completely obnoxious. I don't know how those residents are driven to slashing the bus' tires.

the3rdbridge

This is completely t false. NOTHING is worse than the ice-cream truck jingle.

Dirk

Amen.

Guest

w/ a megaphone: "new york is home to some 10 million new yorkers. here we see a typical disgruntled new yorker; everyone let's say hi--'hi, new yorker!' the typical finger signal means that he's displeased with our wanting to communicate with him. now we see the new yorker approaching us; let's all be very, verycautious. you do not want to provoke a new..." *SPLAT* "..."

majapapaya

Sorry for being a serious tour guide. 8.3 million people in NYC. But I can't wait till the census comes out. Then maybe 10 mill. 8•)

Guest

"...i was told always to exaggerate... over and out..." x_x

S.K.

Damned NIMBYs. Let's see the bakeries of Bleecker street survive without my tourists.

I am proud to work at Gray Line. When the economy turns sour, and nobody else is willing to hire, the endless supply of foreign tourists keeps me employed. And we have a union, too!

Long live the double deckers!

majapapaya

Hey S.K. I work for City Sights, your sister here. I was surprised how many people contacted me about the news that we will all loose our jobs because of the mandated headsets. 2022 for the buses now in service. PLEASE! Media?

majapapaya

I am a tour guide for one of the 2 big tour companies in NYC. I pride myself for having very accurate information. I'm sure there are guides that just don't care what they say. I update my tours frequently. Going by Madison Square Park with Gormley's Event Horizon adds to the tour of the area. Why I had to respond is because in this article they quote someone who lives in Little Italy complaining about the noise but THE OPEN AIR TOUR BUSES DON'T GO THROUGH LITTLE ITALY! Now that's wrong!

Såkandulæredet

I guess maybe it's harder to spout complete bullshit with everyone easily able to check the bullshit on their smartphones.

turkishjade

It is Speed. That pic is from "The Cruise" a documentary about him doing his job. T'was beautiful and a must see, especially if you aren't originally from New York.

JenChungsBaby

I thought it was Bob Dylan right before he stood in an alley and held up cue cards.

Angelheaded Hipster

speed is the man

kazubes

Cant say Ive heard the nonsense those tour guides spout, but I definitely have heard pedi cab morons in central park spouting complete bs including that a civil war battle was fought there.

ennuipoet

If you stretch it kinda long, the Draft Riots are kinda sorta a Civil War battle. On the other hand, West Harlem is one of the City's most interesting neighborhoods?

Mr Mel

I had a friend who was a Big Apple Tour guide. He told me that whenever he was on one of those busses, no matter where he was, Uptown, Downtown, The Village, Soho he would point to a building and tell the tourists, that's where Jackie Kennedy lived. He said every camera would be clicking and they loved it. Of course he didn't last long on the job. But he was like Kramer, he would never get discouraged.

FDTW

All these complaints about noise...we live in a city; when you live here you deal with blasting car stereos, construction work, the couple screaming at each other on the street at 3am, and yes, even tour buses. This is what happens when you have 8 million neighbors. You want peace and quiet buy a farm in Montana.