CAR SHOW!!!

What was all that racket, we were wondering over here on East Seventh Street. Really, really loud music began blasting out in the afternoon, so loud it just about drowned out my radio inside my apartment. My neighbor could hear it in her bedroom at the rear of the building.

We were guessing it was a party at a house a block away, one known for raucous gatherings. Then I heard an MC and figured it was some kind of event, maybe at City Hall.

Finally I took a walk and found out it was an event, all right - four blocks away on North Avenue. It was very well-attended and most people were from out of town, so they didn't need to find out about it from music blasting through the center of the city. There were big vertical banners on Park and Watchung avenues to advertise the car show to the locals.

The council recently discussed creation or strengthening of a city noise ordinance, mainly to quell noise from parties and gatherings in neighborhoods. Nobody begrudges a person the occasional blow-out for a special occasion, but apparently some folks hold big blasts every weekend. Based on a couple of recent experiences here at Park & Seventh, we would like to see limits placed on events whose organizers come equipped with sound systems that would be better used for concerts in an arena.

Here's a look at the show (without sound):