Ruth Carmelitano O'Sullivan is the proud owner of two miniature dachshunds—Elizabeth and Emily—and with that, the most animal noise violations the city has issued to one household (at least in the past year). The Upper East Sider leaves her two pups at home when she goes to work, according to the Daily News, and her co-op neighbors are let with a yapping duo. more ›

A recent review of complaints shows that the city's toll booth clerks may not be the worlds nicest people. The Port Authority recorded just 24 complaints and the MTA 153 in the past 19 months, and most of them revealed much more serious problems than just miscounted change. At least no one has pulled a gun... yet. more ›

After increasing the cost of pooper scooper fines from $100 to $250, city inspectors issued far fewer tickets to dog owners who didn't pick up after their pooches last year. The number of pooper scooper violations plummeted from 903 in the fiscal year of 2008 to just 580 in 2009—but experts say the decline in tickets has nothing to do with the higher cost of the violations. more ›

While a vet over at CityRoom takes questions about the controversial debarking procedure, the NY Times profiles some folks that have put their pups through it. Like Dr. Marder, a veterinarian himself, who had his dog Nestlé's vocal means of communication severed after a neighbor in their Upper East co-op complained. The paper notes that the dog barks and barks... but only manages a sad squeaky wheeze. Marder and his family tell people he's just raspy from all the barking, but the truth of the matter is they had his vocal cords cut. more ›

An unusual complaint about carriage horses was sent in to the NY Times' Metropolitan. A woman tells of her harrowing parking experience, saying she was about to back in to a spot on Central Park West, across from her apartment building, but "as soon as I put the car in reverse to parallel park, I noticed a horse and buggy..." more ›

Better sit down for this shocking bit from the MTA complaint file: the B61 is too slow. Sure, it's not a new grievance, but one rider wrote us detailing just how painful her commute is. She says: "For the second time in a week, I have waited upwards of a half hour for the arrival of the 61. When it came, after 9 a.m. (I got to the stop at 8:30), I asked the driver why he was late and his reply was: 'I don't know.'" more ›

Somehow we don't think a broom handle to the ceiling is going to fix this one. One of Madonna's Upper West Side neighbors filed a lawsuit yesterday, charging her of subjecting the building to "pounding noise and vibration" when she uses her apartment as a dance studio. more ›

The nightmare on Jane Street continues, though it still remains uncertain if the real nightmare is the Jane Hotel, or the wealthy NIMBYs who are unleashing every city agency upon their new neighbor. more ›

It's been two years since lines wrapped around Apple stores as New Yorkers waited and waited to get their hands on a precious iPhone, but the masses are still unhappy with AT&T. That's right disgruntled iPhone owners: you are not iLone! CNET has gathered some of the complaints about AT&T's service and claims of coverage (one declares "My damn iPhone drops calls about 75 percent of the time inside my house"), and one New Yorker living near JFK airport aired his grievances on YouTube. more ›

Is there room for a soapbox on this sidewalk? The latest complaint box on City Room is filled with street clutter grievances; as we know, newspaper condos and sidewalk dining are shrinking our already crowded sidewalks. The site posts a complaint from Julia F. Willkie, who resides on East 79th Street; she states: "What really upsets and infuriates me is how cluttered the streets, avenues and sidewalks have become. I live on the Upper East Side, west of Third and four blocks from Mayor Bloomberg’s residence. At the intersection of Third and 79th, three corners host 18 'honor boxes.' Between 77th and 79th on Third are an additional 13 boxes." Those pesky publications aren't all that's in the way, though, she also lists off phone booths, street vendors and newspaper stands as her personal public enemy #1. Finally she declares, "Good Heavens! My head tilts back so I can clear my vision, and street banner advertisements, approved by New York City’s tourism officials, are hanging from lampposts." Does Willkie need to move to greener pastures, or are our sidewalks becoming too much of an obstacle course? more ›

Angry Tribeca residents gathered at a Community Board 1 meeting Wednesday to confront the owner of Sazon, a newish bi-level Latin Caribbean restaurant and lounge. The basement salsa parties have become quite popular, and that's upsetting some neighbors like Barbara Spitzer, who decried the "party atmosphere... Reade Street feels like I’m living on Seventh Avenue." Another resident complained, "People are coming here to have fun. Fun is good, but it’s not very good on a residential street." Then owner Genero Morales detected a whiff of racism against his largely Puerto Rican clientele, and that insinuation infuriated Spitzer: "You really shouldn’t go there. It’s really inappropriate, and it’s quite offensive." The protests come at a bad time for Sazon, which is still waiting for liquor license approval from the SLA and has been selling booze under temporary licenses. Tribeca Committee chairman Peter Braus agreed with the neighbors, and told Morales, "There’s a discrepancy, clearly, between how you represented yourself [in January] and how the community perceives you." Morales is taking steps to quiet down, but downtown community boards won't really be satisfied until all bars are relocated to a designated "fun barge" somewhere off the southeast tip of Staten Island. more ›

The fiesta's not forever at Kensington Mexican restaurant El Gavilan, which has been driving neighbors up the wall ever since owners expanded it into a nightclub earlier this summer. Now there's dancing, music and sometimes fisticuffs! Derek Mayer, a resident who lives across the street, tells the Daily News he's been awoken at 3 a.m. with "20 drunk people congregating outside in the street." And in May he saw a knife-wielding man trying to slash a bouncer armed with a baseball bat. After some pressure from Councilman Bill de Blasio, the NYPD raided the place at the end of July, citing the owner for selling alcohol after hours, unlicensed sale of alcohol, operating an unlicensed dance hall, employing an unlicensed security guard and serving alcohol to minors. But the owner's brother insists El Gavilan is "not a discoteca. The people come, they listen to music from the machine. There's no live music." Live or not, the music's too damn loud, counters Albermarle Neighborhood Association President Larry Jayson. And don't even get him started on all the horn honking! more ›

We've got to admit, when we heard that residents near the Thomspon LES Hotel were vehemently complaining about the noise from the hotel's new rooftop patios, we wondered if maybe they weren't overreacting just a tiny bit, considering that they choose to live in a part of Manhattan not exactly known as an oasis of tranquility. But good grief, check out this recent Thompson LES pool party, documented by a neighbor who should be credited for shooting video, not bullets. more ›

It seems that more and more taxi TV screens are losing the "off" or "mute" button, turning NYC cabs into hell on wheels. Incensed reader (and big band leader) Gregory Moore writes:

I made the very unpleasant discovery this weekend during a $20 cab ride downtown that those hideous backseat televisions are being re-designed so that they can no longer be turned off, muted or have the volume turned down. As I tried to conduct business on my mobile phone, I continued to be barraged with the same horrendous commercials over and over. Please notify your readers to file a complaint with the Taxi and Limousine Commission over this revolting new "innovation".

deserves to have their dreams invaded by the musical stylings of Foghat – but then the bad advice came rolling in: "While the noise is occurring, call 911." A second sage declared that late at night "is no time for you to worry about whether you're being inconsiderate by calling the authorities." That's the path that one local took when going up against Union Hall earlier this year (he lost), so using resources like 911 for complaints like that isn't always advised--hello, Reginald Peterson. Instead call 311 and try talking to the bar owner. more ›

Before the big meeting tomorrow at Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Paper weighs in on the great Union Hall debate of Aught Eight. Recently some neighbors, led by Jon Crow, rallied together to stop the renewal of the establishment's liquor license at the end of the month; one neighbor, who has since moved, told us, "This place had a serious impact on my life, on my wife's health, and threatened the health and well-being of my child. No one's fun is worth that, to me." more ›