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

Avenue C 'residents with children' not happy with Babel Lounge

We spotted this sign on Saturday over at Babel Lounge and Hookah Bar on Avenue C near east Eighth Street…

"Your club will be shut down if you continue to disturb the peace of this neighborhood."

Signed,
Ave. C residents with children

Babel doubled in size recently when it took over the late Duke's spot next door.

Another flyer campaign to 'stop the rooftop noise' at 84 E. 10th St.

These signs are up along East 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue … (we also spotted some on Third Avenue…) …





Here's a look at the recently remodeled 84 E. 10th St. …



And the helpful arrow points out where the roof likely is…



Seriously, though … there have been complaints about rooftop noise here dating back to June 2010 … before the building got the makeover…

According to a listing that we spotted for No. 84 in March 2013, there is only one residential unit here … (the 2-bedroom space was asking $7,500). The amenities included "a huge private roof deck."

Milling and paving, milling and paving make for some sleepy residents

[East 6th Street last night via @highmountain]

As you likely heard in the middle of the night, crews have been taking to the East Village side streets in an ongoing milling-paving project.

EVill Joe found this schedule (PDF) on the DOT site ...



And how has this overnight work been going so far?

Per one EVG reader: "I was kept up allllllll night ... It was an apocalyptic noise level from 1 am to 5 am or so. I tried calling 311 ... but they couldn't give me much info."



[Photos on First Avenue via EVG reader Charlie Chen]

And be sure to heed those No Parking signs...


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

...because the city will tow your ass...


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

Reader report: The fire alarm goes off every morning at PS 64

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

From a nearby resident of the school:

The fire alarm at PS 64 at 600 E. 6th St. goes off every morning at almost exactly 6. Emergency lights flash and the alarm sounds for approximately 1 minute waking up the entire neighborhood. Reported it to 311 many times and they claim:

The Department of Environmental Protection did not observe a violation of the New York City Air/Noise Code at the time of inspection and could not issue a notice of violation. If the problem still exists, please call 311 and file a new complaint. If you are outside of New York City, please call (212) NEW-YORK (212-639-9675).

It is the most infuriating situation.

Anyone else experience this from the school?

[Updated] Someone is playing really loud music along Second Avenue (again)

[The former Virgins]

Updated a few things from the previous version...

Oh, back in October 2012, there were published reports about The Virgins practicing in frontman Donald Cumming's apartment on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street. Some people didn't care for the noise.

Per DNAinfo:

"I think they are so full of themselves they keep their window open," said the resident, who declined to provide her name, at a meeting of the Ninth Precinct Community Council.

And that was that.

The band officially broke up back in November.

Now the noise complaints from the building are back ... with a band playing (previewing Cumming's upcoming solo record?), practicing (whatever!) with the windows open again ... and some neighbors aren't happy, as we've heard.

One resident said that the band started playing last night around 10:30-11 ... and continued until near 2 a.m. Ditto for Sunday evening. They didn't play for as long on Monday night — until 11 or so.

"They are so absurdly loud ... and it's really disruptive to those of us in the East Village who work 9-5 (more like 8-7) jobs," one neighbor told us today. "It's hard to sleep when the music is playing so loud."

Solutions?

"I've called 311 and the 9th precinct; 311 doesn't ever get back to me, and the 9th Precinct has hung up on my phone calls at least seven times," the resident said. "I appreciate that they're part of what makes this neighborhood great, but it's really impacting my sleep schedule — and that of my neighbor's — in a negative way."

Reader mailbag: What was that rooftop concert about last night on East 13th Street?

We've heard now from a few readers who want to know:

Any intel on what that concert was last night around 11:30? I'm on 13th between A and B and it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. Louder than anything I typically hear from Tompkins Square.

Another resident said that it was a band playing atop a building on East 13th Street.

"Heard blaring music start at like 1130ish and on for easily 20-30 mins. I heard several other people from other buildings yelling shit at them but the band played on...

Not that it was all bad.

"Good music but I was super surprised the cops didn't show up...or if they did it took em a while."

Anyone know what this was all about?

Of rats and parties

You may have seen Gawker's "Vermin-Party Index" from yesterday afternoon... in which they examined more than 260,000 311 complaints classified as "vermin" or "loud party/music" from January 2010 to July 2013.

How did this area fare? Pretty good! (Well, good as in bad.)

No surprises here...

Top Party Complaint Neighborhoods:
Interior Williamsburg (11211): 3,544 complaints
East Village (10009): 3,106
Lower East Side (10002): 2,985

Overall though, when you combine the number of vermin and party complaints, we just cracked the top 20 in the five boroughs. The 10009 zip was 20th with 3,761 total complaints about rats and parties... and 10003 was 29th with 3,120 complaints.

Tops? The 11226 zip (Flatbush) with 7,574 complaints, of which 5,847 were rat related.

Head over to Gawker for all the charts and what not.

H/T RyanAvenueA

Con Ed's 'constant ear-splitting' work on 14th and C

Some residents who live near East 14th Street and Avenue C are upset by ongoing noise from Con Ed crews working on the street... per one resident:

Last night ConEd did below-street level work until 3 AM at 14th and Ave C. Tonight they have been jackhammering for a full hour from 8 to 9 PM. It's so loud my daughter is crying!

This street work started several days ago. It always begins around 8 or 9 PM and then goes on for hours and hours.

Residents are beside themselves. We can't sleep, we can't function in our homes due to constant ear-splitting noise.

Reader mailbag: Can you help ID that high-pitched screeching noise?

From the EV Grieve Reader Mailbag®:

Wondering if you can help identify the source of a high-pitched screeching noise coming from somewhere between East 10th and East 9th Street (back of the buildings) and First Avenue and Avenue A (seems closer to A).

A fan? An exhaust of some kind? Suri Cruise's tea kettle (is she even in the EV anymore)? [Editor's note: No]

It sounds like 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh'

It's on for like 1 or 2 days a week for many hours at a time.

I'm trying to pinpoint the source to report the issue to 311, contact the source (or consider an unconventional approach if that becomes necessary).

Anyone? Anyone with a serious response/solution?

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]

[Updated] Con Ed apologizes for the 'inconvenience' of waking you up at 4:30 a.m.

Twitter lit up again early this morning (or, late last night depending on your schedule) with reports of various weird alien noises, explosions, 747s landing nearby. That kind of thing. Similar, but not as loud as in the early-morning hours of Feb. 27.

Super weird alien noises and sirenish sounds coming from Stuytown right now, can't sleep! #stuytown #eastvillage

— Calvin Morrissey (@calvinmorrissey) March 11, 2013

@evgrieve hear anything about a punishingly loud buzzing noise at 4:15 last night near 14th and B that lasted an hour? Destroyed my sleep.

— David M. Goldstein (@dmg924) March 11, 2013

One resident did speak with Con Ed around 4:30 a.m. They were releasing steam pressure.

@lilyalta @evgrieve #stuytown was a release of steam pressure from our steam station. Sorry for inconvenience

— Con Edison (@ConEdison) March 11, 2013

And they are sorry for the "inconvenience," as you can see.

From a follow-up with Con Ed: "It was not planned. Was due to equipment issue."

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village residents ask: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOISE LAST NIGHT?

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]

East Village residents ask: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOISE LAST NIGHT?

We're getting all kinds of reports this morning, like this email from a resident on Avenue A near East Second Street (subject line — Last night's starship landing):

Any reports of a crazy loud noises at 2:40 AM this morning? We woke up to what I can only describe as a harrier jet landing outside our window. It lasted about 15 seconds each time with a couple minutes between each. Total of 3. Have never heard anything like it.

Twitter noticed too.

Is anyone else hearing the East Village explode right now?

— RICHIE MOZZAREAL (@richieberetta) February 27, 2013

What the hell is that noise at 3am? #NYC #eastvillage #noise

— Ben Nairn (@bennairn) February 27, 2013

@bennairn heard it too! #eastvillage #noise. sounded like rocket launchers through the sky

— Kerry Docherty (@AMindfulMentor) February 27, 2013

Uhh, what was that sound? #nyc #eastvillage

— Michael Serunian (@mserunian) February 27, 2013

Anyone know what those crazy sounds were a few minutes ago in the East Village?! @eastvillage

— Roxxan Hanson (@roxxan23) February 27, 2013

Anyone else? We haven't heard anything about this just yet... like, anything official.

Updated
Con Ed said this via Twitter: "Looked into it and I have no reports of anything happening there..." Meaning the power plant on East 14th Street and Avenue C, a likely culprit.

So. UFO, totally.

Meanwhile, Unexplained Loud Booms and Light Flashes Persist in U.S.

Is this the noise that you heard last night?

We heard from several readers last evening around 10-ish... asking what that mysterious buzzing noise was coming from somewhere around First Avenue and East Fourth Street... one reader figured the constant buzzing stopped around 11 p.m. or so.

The noise started up again this morning... and one reader found what he or she thinks is the culprit... leaf blowers coming from Village View...

[VIDEO] 'Suffering terribly' from the mystery noise on East Ninth Street

Earlier this week, we posted the signs about the "terrible screeching noise" from somewhere behind a building on East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C ...

There's also a video.



Per the description on the video: "If anybody has any idea what the noise might be and how it can be stopped, please let me know."

About that 'terrible screeching noise' on East Ninth Street

A more specific sign has arrived on East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C ... we posted a photo of the first sign yesterday... it was a little skimpy on details...

Now, though...

[Bobby Williams]

And a reader left this in the comments:

The noise is a high pitched sound that sometimes sounds like a whine and at present more like a shriek that varies in pitch. It's affecting people in the upper stories, especially at the rear of buildings on the eastern half of 9th and 10th Streets between B and C. It continues 24/7 for days at a time. It first began last Thanksgiving and returns intermittently. The latest episode has lasted more than a week and those of us affected are getting pretty desperate, as the sign indicates. Calls to 311 have got us nowhere so we've now appealed to CB3 to use their influence with the DEP. As the sign indicates, we can't trace where the noise is coming from but it's most likely a ventilation system.

'Stop the noise!'

[Bobby Williams]

As the sign posted on East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C shows ... there is ample noise coming from ... somewhere.

If the person/people who left the put up the sign would like to expound on this in the comments ... Bar noise? Renovation noise? Rooftop BBQ woo?

So what's the loudest block in the East Village?

We did that post last week about a reader looking for a quiet block to live on (helpful, by the way!) ... asking if such a thing even existed these days. (This post.)

Following that, another reader thought it might be sorta therapeutic to prompt a discussion about the loudest block in the neighborhood. Bar noise. Traffic noise. Noise noise. The usual.

Sure. What the Hell.

So.

I've never lived on these blocks, but they seem as if they could be really loud at times.

• St. Mark's Place closer to Avenue A (apartments facing St. Mark's Place)

• Third Avenue (OK, maybe between 10th and 12th...)

• Near or around Avenue A and Houston

Anyone else?

[File photo outside Superdive back in the day]

Another Urban Etiquette Sign for UCBeast

On Avenue A at East Third Street.

Previously.