What it’s like living among 2 fraternities in 1 East Village building

Interview by Stacie Joy 

We're fortunate to receive a steady stream of compelling photos and videos from tipsters around the neighborhood.

This one — from a resident on Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D — stood out. 

The resident says they've been kept awake by ongoing late-night activity, including rooftop parties and what they describe as frat-style hazing rituals in the backyard, and wanted to document what they've been experiencing. 

Thanks for sending the images (and video) along! What are we looking at in these photos? 

These were photos from various nights. The main one appeared to be a hazing ritual with the fraternity in the basement.

You said there is more than one fraternity in your building. Can you tell me when they moved in, which fraternities they are members of, and which schools they attend?

The frats all seemed to move in over the summer last year. The ones in the basement appear to be NYU (from their gear and what they yell), and according to their beer pong table, they're Kappa Sigma. The ones upstairs also seem to be from NYU, according to what partygoers have yelled in the hallways. 

What has it been like living there?

As I'm typing this, the frat upstairs is running through the halls, yelling, and banging on walls and doors.

There will be normal times here and there, where maybe they're out of town, but even now, during spring break, there's a lot of activity. The frat upstairs hosts frequent parties where their guests leave trash all over the halls and outside — mainly the ubiquitous red Solo cups and beer bottles/cans. 

The frat in the basement seems to be more respectful; they generally move inside by 10 p.m. and haven't been as destructive overall. 

Other neighbors in the building and the neighborhood at large have complained about them having hazing-type rituals out on Fourth Street, where they are yelling until all hours. 

On more than one night, I've received late-night texts from neighbors asking if I can do anything about the rooftop parties. This is just as likely to happen during the week as on weekends, which has really caused problems for those of us who have weekday jobs. 

The noise and banging are so significant that all of the pictures on my wall move from the vibrations. The cops and 311 have been called repeatedly; supposedly, they've found nothing. 

The guys upstairs haven't been friendly about keeping noise down or being good neighbors, but the ones in the basement are at least open to discussion and have made obvious efforts to keep the noise down overnight.

How are the two frats different from each other? 

The ones in the basement are both more respectful and more outrageous. That's probably just because we can all see what they're doing, whereas the other frats have their activities in their apartments or on the roof. The tied-up, half-naked nights in the garden are at least entertaining! 

Do you have any interaction with them? How are they as neighbors? What do other tenants in the building say? 

I've spoken to all of them. The basement one seems to try to be a good neighbor, at least more than the others. I've seen them cleaning the hall trash, holding open doors, and being polite, and where there's a complaint, they seem to try to tone it down. 

The upstairs groups, in contrast, are entitled, rude, and seem to have zero interest in anyone's well-being but their own. I think the takeaway is that it's upsettingly stereotypical that people coming into the neighborhood seem to have very little concern for being part of it or for the people around them. 

The majority of them don't appear to work or pay for anything themselves (overheard hallway yelling about "daddy paying"), and I can't help but think that they see themselves as having zero accountability since they have zero skin in the game.

The building was previously a mix of families and working people; we all basically kept to ourselves, but were a friendly group. Since the building was sold a few years ago, the rents have increased dramatically, and the quality of life has dropped to rock bottom. 

You mentioned having some issues with noise and parties. What steps, if any, has your landlord or management taken to address them? 

The landlord sent out one group email about the noise. Other than the one letter, I'm unaware of anything being done, and they generally ignore complaints. 

What is their musical taste like? 

Basic.

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What about beverage choices? 

Equally basic. The light beers, red Solo cups and White Claws are on full display. 

Can you speak a bit about the hazing rituals you have witnessed? Assuming that is what we see in some of these photos. 

The ones that I have seen seem to be rooted around, I guess, good-natured humiliation? They're usually centered on some sort of nakedness, regardless of the weather, and on subservience. 

Since it seems consensual and not dangerous, I personally don't have an issue with that part, outside the noise.