An annoying noise from an unknown source along this block of St. Mark's Place

February photo of St. Mark's Place looking east from Third Avenue 

From the EVG inbox... a reader writes about a loud, constant ventilation noise outside the resident's building at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (north side of the street). 

Some background: 

I'm not sure of the source of the sound; I walked around the block from St Mark's past the new building [the 9-story 1 St. Mark's Place] almost finished on 3rd Avenue and down Stuyvesant north of 2nd Avenue. From the sidewalk, I couldn't hear the noise ... 

The noise could be from the new building on 3rd Avenue but could be from one of the restaurants that line St Mark's or Stuyvesant. It's not an AC. It sounds much louder. It sounds like it's coming from the courtyard behind 11 St Mark's. It started a couple days ago. 

Our guess was from the renovations for 8-14 Stuyvesant St., where the food-hall concept Wonder is on the way.

The resident filed a noise complaint at 311. Are any nearby residents hearing this, too?

Mystery solved? Avenue A residents track down source of the incessant 'loud mechanical sound'

Updated 8:45 a.m.: The original resident who reached out about the noise last month said that this is "clearly not the issue we are dealing with." And: "We are fairly certain it's coming from mechanical equipment in the rear of the business at 171 Avenue A. We are in contact with them to hopefully get it resolved. Anyone else experiencing this can reach out at LongtimeLesRes@gmail.com.

Also: The sleuths do NOT live on Avenue A as previously reported.

------------

Late last month, a longtime East Village resident wrote in about "a loud mechanical sound" that has been driving residents along Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street a little bonkers. 

To recap the sound situation: 

Unlike most commercial AC units that cycle on and off, this sound is incessant, and it sounds like a cross between an AC unit and a refrigerator. Occasionally there is a mechanical grinding noise as well. The noise doesn't stop, is loud, and is making it impossible for us to have our windows open and is making it difficult to sleep. 

Over the weekend, some local residents who read the previous post believed that have tracked down the source of the noise — from atop 118 Avenue D in the Jacob Riis Houses at Ninth Street.

So the noise was coming from three avenues away? 

"Yes, it's crazy how this sound carries all the way over to Avenue A," one of the residents told us. 

Now to the sleuthing: 

We just kept circling around trying to find the source. We initially thought it could be coming from the East River Park construction area but when we went there, we heard it coming from inland and we just circled around, closer and closer until we found it. 

We were able to access the roof of 100 Avenue D thinking it came from there and that's where we saw the actual source — the rooftop of 118 Avenue D.

   

Now what?

"We're just not sure how to get the NYCHA to address the issue," the resident said. "We didn't contact anyone about it." (Yet!)

Given the distance from 118 Avenue D to Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street, certainly other residents must be experiencing sound issues as well — especially those who live near the Riis Houses.

Residents eager to track down the source of this 'loud mechanical sound' in the East Village

A longtime resident shares this... 

Early last week we noticed a loud mechanical sound coming somewhere from the rear of the strip of buildings on Avenue A between 10th and 11th, 10th Street between A and 1st and 11th Street between A and 1st. 

Unlike most commercial AC units that cycle on and off, this sound is incessant, and it sounds like a cross between an AC unit and a refrigerator. Occasionally there is a mechanical grinding noise as well. The noise doesn't stop, is loud, and is making it impossible for us to have our windows open and is making it difficult to sleep. 

Unfortunately, we do not have a solid idea where the noise is coming from so, we can’t contact the business or landlord responsible. If we knew where the noise was coming from, we have some ideas on how to address it.

If you are experiencing the same issue or know where the noise is coming from, please reach out to us at LongtimeLesRes@gmail.com. We can work together to hopefully get this resolved.

It's 6 a.m. Do you know where your neighbors are?

In case you haven't seen this viral video that got its start on TikTok (since removed, it seems). However, it has been shared by multiple sites and sources, garnering millions of views in the process. (Thank you to the EVG readers who shared this starting back on Saturday.) 

Not sure when or where this was filmed — an undisclosed East Village building. Anyway, per the clip, it's 6 a.m., and three people are on the fire escape doing whatever they're doing and wooing ... soon, a resident starts yelling "shut the fuck up" and "hey asshole." 

The male fire escapee then tells the neighbor to "relax." (😬) Then some other neighbors join in — "shut the fuck up" ... and you can see the rest in the clip (sound on!) via @Complex ...

 

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A post shared by COMPLEX (@complex)

Addressing the 'out of control' rooftop parties in the East Village

Curbed checks in with a piece on a contentious topic in this neighborhood — "East Village Rooftop Parties Are Out of Control — Can a New Bill Change That?" 

The article looks at the ongoing problems of these rooftop ragers, where partygoers have been known to climb/leap from building to building. 

On May 22, 24-year-old Cameron Perrelli reportedly slipped and fell while climbing up from 202 Avenue A to the roof next door at 200 Avenue A. 

Her death prompted local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera to introduce a bill that would ensure enforcement agencies have easier access to phone numbers of overnight building supers or contacts and require better oversight of rooftop use and capacity. (She has already introduced Intro 1292, which would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes.)

The Curbed piece wonders how effective the new bill could be...

Rivera's newest proposal has its potential limitations, especially in the East Village, where many rooftop spaces would not require a certificate of occupancy. Under current DOB rules, only spaces that can hold 75 or more people or host events involving “excessive noise, vibration and other nuisances” need one. Smaller rooftops must meet other safety requirements, like having a code-compliant railing and exit signs, but the certificate is not required.

And there's another issue with putting an end to the rooftop parties...

Longtime East Village residents say those young renters only stay for a few years, and the constant turnover makes it harder to actually make any headway on tamping down the parties. 

"You can't really control it, because every time you get some tiny grip on the situation, there's a whole bunch of new residents," says Nicholas Peate, who lives on East 7th Street. Both Peate and [Robert] La Force are so fed up with the constant loud parties, they are thinking of moving out. 

"They market [these apartments] as a sort of a luxury frat house, that's the issue," Peate says. "So basically, they say, 'You're here, you're entitled, you're wealthy, you're white, and you can just do whatever the fuck you want.'"

Reader-submitted photos: 330 E. 6th St. (top); 100 Avenue A

 Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Neighbors address the rooftop parties at this 6th Street building 

• Department of Buildings: 202 Avenue A does not have a 'valid certificate of occupancy'

Neighbors address the rooftop parties at this 6th Street building

Some residents on Sixth Street have launched a flyer campaign to help address the rooftop ragers at 330 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Per the flyers spotted on the block...

"We are a group of tenants living on 6th Street determined to address the issue of noise disturbances occurring every weekend — crowded parties on the rooftop with blasting music and guests yelling until late night."

Apparently, these have become a Friday-through-Sunday ritual these past few months.

There's an email address to receive updates on the group's action... as well as a prompt to file a complaint with 311. 

The landlord is Centennial Properties, which is the new name of convicted felon Steve Croman's 9300 Realty. 

According to Streeteasy, units range in price from $4,100 to $7,600 for three to four bedrooms. Amenities for a few units include balconies with at least one having a private roof deck.

H/T @vanishingny 

Residents, 9th Precinct meeting tonight about excessive partying at 56 St. Mark's Place

[Rear view of No. 56]

Residents who live near 56 St. Mark's Place, aka The Saint, have organized a community meeting tonight at 7 with Capt. Vincent Greany, commanding officer of the 9th Precinct, to discuss what they say has been non-stop partying at the 8-story rental built in 2005. The meeting will be outside No. 56, which is between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The organizer of the meeting shared this background:

It has turned into a partying rental building, filled with fresh-out-of-college kids ... partying non-stop and terrorizing neighboring residents only several yards away from it.

The main noise issues stem from rooftop and some units with patios larger than their apartments. On the rooftop, tenants party till 3-4 am with DJs, climb onto the building's water tower, throw beer bottles and puke down to lower levels.

Large terraces are located on the level equal to the 2nd floor. Surrounded by buildings, sound vibrates like an amphitheater. The patios are hidden and only accessible through apartment entrances. It's not visible from the street and the tenants, knowing these issues, have been jeopardizing the quality of life of about 60 residents surrounding 56 St. Mark's Place. They watch movies with outdoor projectors, play music with outdoor speakers and have over 30 people getting drunk and hollering till early morning.

According to the organizer, the Saint is managed by Helm Management, who have "dodged efforts by several neighbors to speak to them about this issue."

Nearly a dozen other nearby residents shared horror stories about the Saint. Here's a sampling from one (edited for length):

First, let me say this — THE SAINT is an unholy nightmare that should be renamed THE SINNER.

Since the beginning of March 2016 there have been 28 parties or gatherings that have gone beyond 12:30 at night. Many have carried on until 3 am, or 4 am, or even later. All of them massively disturb the peace, prevent me from sleeping, disrupt work routines and cause aggravation and ill will. I feel psychologically and emotionally attacked, disturbed and drained. It has ruined the peace in my home and neighborhood.

I have to deal with:

• Almost daily noise, disruption and intrusion — way above normal levels.

• Roof parties — often with DJs and up to 60 or more drunk, rowdy, sometime belligerent guests — inevitably every weekend (sometimes both Friday and Saturday nights). Parties and gatherings also often occur on Sundays and during weeknights.

• We live inside an enormous fishbowl and every sound that is made on the roof or terraces it is magnified, reverberates off the walls of the other buildings. Sitting in my bedroom sometimes sounds like I am in the middle of a nightclub.

• Shrill, infantile screams of “Dude”, “Fuck yeah!”, “Oh my fucking god”, “Pass me a beer”, “Wow, I’m shitfaced”, “I would fuck him”, “Wahoooooooo!!!!!” etc., etc., at all hours of the night.

• Tenants screaming insults when I ask them to be quiet, or to turn down the noise, or to shut the music off. Insults have included, “Suck my cock”, “Fuck you”, “Eat shit”, “You sound foreign, why don’t you fucking go home?“

• Feeling as though the only solution is to move.

Of particular concern is the building's water tower. Per a neighbor:

Tenants have also taken a particular liking to climbing a tower located on the roof, accessed by a narrow ladder, and turned it into their “sky lounge”. They (and non residents, including minors) sit on top of it and drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, flash lights, scream at the tops of their lungs, play music, throw bottles and vomit over the edge, etc., etc.



People use the tower at any and ALL times of the night and morning.

The dangers are SIGNIFICANT. There is no railing on top of it, there is a 35 foot drop to the roof, girls in heels and formal dresses often climb on top of it then scream “How do I get down”. At times as many as 20 kids (usually drunk) have packed on top of it — a space that is no more than 7ftx10ft. If one of these kids falls (odds are one of them will one day) they will SERIOUSLY injure themselves.

East Village is No. 1 in Lower Manhattan for garbage, noise and rodent complaints, study finds

[EVG file photo of 6th Street]

DNAInfo has the results of a RentHop study tracking 311 complaints in six Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.

Here's how this neighborhood stacks up vs. No. 2 Chinatown:

East Village: 680.3 garbage complaints and 572.9 rodent complaints per square mile, 75.5 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

Chinatown: 486.5 garbage complaints and 344.2 rodent complaints per square mile, 47.8 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

You can find an interactive map and more results from the survey here.

Do you have any opinions about noise in the East Village?

[Smurf #woo circa 2010]

Then have we got a survey for you! (And you!)

Via the EVG inbox...

Dear New Yorkers:

The New York State Comptroller's Office is conducting a survey on noise in New York City neighborhoods and would like you to take the survey.

Research has demonstrated that noise can adversely impact public health. For example, noise can disturb sleep and increase stress levels.

We want to learn about your experience of noise in your community and solicit your ideas for reducing noise.

Toward that end, we are asking all community residents take the survey by March 15, 2016.

Thank you!

State Government Accountability
New York State Comptroller's Office

You may access the English version of the survey here. (The survey is also available in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.)

P.S.

Remember! If you don't like noise, then move to _______________

If you don't like construction noise, then...

From the Post today:

Sixty-two percent, or 33,533, of the complaints logged with the Department of Environmental Protection from July 1, 2014, through June 30 of this year were tied to off-hours construction or noise from equipment such as jackhammers.

Read the whole article here.

The 'stop the rooftop noise' signs return on East 10th Street

The signs returned here along East 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue this past weekend ... in several shapes and sizes...





We last spotted this flyer/sticker campaign in April (read that post here) ... as far as we know, the signs date back to June 2010 ... so we can celebrate four years of rooftop noise here then.

Friday night's rooftop party at Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A

Back in June, we heard from some unhappy neighbors living near the newly renovated (and now taller) 205 Avenue A — a property billed as an "East Village frat house" in ads.

For several months, neighbors said that they've had to endure various DJ-fueled rooftop parties between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

When landlord Icon Realty didn't respond to noise complaints, nearby neighbors took up the issue with the offices of Councilmember Rosie Mendez and State Sen. Brad Hoylman. The address was also a topic during June's Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting.

Any progress to note?

Yes, apparently the parties are as loud as ever, as this video that a neighbor who lives several building away shared.



Said the neighbor, "The DJ was up there with sound equipment. It wasn't a charge-at-the-door DJ party. One of the tenants is a DJ and brings his equipment up there sometimes."

The music kicked in around midnight. The neighbor shot the video at 2:05 a.m.

"Many people called 311 and the police showed up around 2:30," the neighbor said. "Not coincidentally the music ceased."

We heard that Lt. Hernandez from the 9th Precinct Community Affairs office has been in contact with Icon Reality about reworking rooftop and backyard use guidelines.

As the resident noted about Lt. Hernandez: "He's been very helpful, but as you can hear, it's still a work in progress."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your 6-bedroom dream 'frat house' awaits you in the East Village

How's life by 326-328 E. Fourth St. these days?

Icon Realty's new Avenue A 'frat house' is attracting attention

Have you heard the rooftop parties at Ben Shaoul's Bloom 62?

We have! A few Sundays ago from atop the former nonprofit nursing home on Avenue B and East Fifth Street that Ben Shaoul bought and converted into high-end rentals. And we've heard grumbling from residents on East Fifth Street. (The Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation wasn't really known for rooftop parties.)

Meanwhile, an Avenue B resident shared this.

Has anyone else complained about Bloom 62? I was walking on the street Saturday night and there was music so loud on the roof ... I contacted 311 and the police allegedly “resolved” the issue, but it was still very noisy through the night. I can’t believe the neighbors around the building can tolerate it.

We actually didn’t eat at Lavagna that night because the music was so loud by the restaurant.

It was clear there was a pro DJ with very serious sound system on the roof.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Icon Realty's new Avenue A 'frat house' is attracting attention

Back in January, an apparently brotastic 6-bedroom apartment at the newly renovated 205 Avenue A was billed as an "East Village frat house" in ads.

Apparently the building with roof deck and backyard is living up to its billing.

Residents who live near the party palace between East 12th Street and East 13th Street say they have been enduring various daytime/nighttime parties since April.

Says one neighbor: "Rooftop parties have included a DJ with sound system and the backyard patio has a large outdoor screen for movies and sports. The backyard is part of a typical configuration whereby many buildings overlook their shared backyard areas which creates a kind of echoey canyon where even the smallest noises are amplified."

To date, residents say building owner Icon Realty has been unresponsive to emails and phone calls regarding the noise complaints.

So, the residents say they were left with little choice but to seek other alternatives to the problem. That means the 9th Precinct, Community Board 3 and the offices of Councilmember Rosie Mendez and State Sen. Brad Hoylman … all are said to be aware of the ongoing noise problems coming from the building's residents (and their guests).

205 Avenue A is expected to be among the topics of discussion during tonight's Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting. (The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the 9th Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.)

And this is not the first time residents have had noise complaints about Icon Realty's newly created dorms.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your 6-bedroom dream 'frat house' awaits you in the East Village

How's life by 326-328 E. Fourth St. these days?

Do you live near a business with a noisy ventilation system?

I've been talking with a longtime resident about an ongoing problem in her building... where the resident and other tenants are at odds with the newish commercial tenant on the ground-floor ... and an outlandishly loud ventilation system.

There are a lot of details. But quickly. The landlord won't do anything, saying that it's not his responsibility. Meanwhile, the business owner has been unresponsive, in part because he's been having an ongoing fight with the landlord about a leak.

"It's been a nightmare and I finally have the energy to take it to the next level to fight it. I want to join with others in the community if possible," the resident said.

The DEP has already issued five noise violations against the business owner, and the case has apparently been working its way through the courts/enforcement control board since last August.

"We have no way of checking on where this matter stands — no records anywhere. A phone no one ever answers. We feel helpless."

The resident is interested in hearing how other people how dealt with similar situations, which seemingly are becoming more commonplace as more franchises take over spaces previously held by mom-and-pop shops (i.e., Papa John's on First Avenue) ... or carve out space in buildings (i.e., IHOP, where neighbors suffered from bacon-related problems).

"This influx of chains to our neighborhood has meant that they have expectations of being able to do whatever they want regarding ventilation and A/C — they aren't always used to dealing with mixed-use buildings," said the resident.

Anyone had advice to leave in the comments? You can also send a note to the EV Grieve email ...

[RANDOM photo via]

Report: THE EAST VILLAGE IS REALLY NOISY!

So, amNY analyzed 311 data and found that! The East Village is the noisiest neighborhood in the City.

Woo! High-fives everyone!

Oh.

According to the paper's not-really-surprising analysis, the East Village (2,108 noise complaints), the Lower East Side (2,069) and Williamsburg (2,061) are the city's top three offenders.

Local leaders responded:

Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, which oversees the East Village, said the area has had the most complaints "for many years" and that it's "nothing new."

How will you celebrate this hard-earned victory?

[St. Patrick's Day 2012 via Bobby Williams]

Reader report: Solas patrons turn sidewalk shed into after-hours hot spot

A few weeks ago, we received word that a woman was taken away in an ambulance from outside Solas, the bar/lounge on East 9th Street.

A reader now notes that some Solasgoers have turned the scaffolding at the nearby parking garage into an impromptu after-hours hot spot. Says the reader:

“When the Solas crowd outside congregates, the bouncer comes out and tells them to move along. They'll then form small groups on the stoops of the neighboring buildings and businesses.

Now they have descended upon the sidewalk shed next door where they continue to scream, fight with each other, block the traffic by getting in and out of taxis, and generally live up to every negative stereotype of the drunken 20-somethings who take over the East Village on the weekends. The group of about 50 people [pictured above] didn't leave the area until 5AM.”