On Block 832, 15 Hours of Noise

Against a backdrop of a national tragedy and world turmoil, a noisy neighborhood event may not count for much. My spoiled day is nothing compared to the ruined or lost lives described in current news reports.

Still, if I may drop down to the hyperlocal level on this one, a daylong event on our block was perhaps emblematic of the kind of summer activity that sets neighbors' nerves on edge and can make one feel trapped in one's own home.

We had a harbinger of something big coming our way when a team of workers spent all day Friday in the rain sawing lumber and fitting it together to make a big stage in a parking lot across the city lot next to our building. The mystery was solved when I went to the corner drug store and found one of those gaudy postcard-like announcements of the event.

The image showed a large crowd gathered around a movie screen. The text was in Spanish, which I last studied in the 1950s, but I could make out the gist of the "Gran Dia de Familia" - a church group was inviting all to an event starting at 11 a.m., with a "movie under the stars" ("Cine Bajo las Estrellas") at 8:30 p.m. The event also included health checkups, live music, free food, gifts and surprises.

Well, the first surprise for us was a pair of generators that began banging away at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. The electrical cords were laid across the Park Avenue driveway to Municipal Lot 7, which, after a visit from public safety officials, was closed to the public. That meant, for instance, no shortcuts for pedestrians from East Seventh Street to Park Avenue to go to the library and the one Lot 7 parking permit holder, who walks in pain while awaiting a total hip replacement, would have to take many extra steps to get to her car.

The day began in earnest with speeches or prayers, a band and set-up of various tables along with a row or two of folding chairs. The noise level was apparent early on and my neighbor and I commiserated on how it was going to affect us. No peaceful time in the garden, no quiet time to read or listen to favorite radio shows. I spent an hour or so with the power blower cleaning our back lot, figuring that noise surely could not be bothersome with all the other racket taking place.

As gardeners know, the first sunny day after prolonged rains leaves one just itching to get out and pull all those weeds that seem to have sprouted overnight. But it was just too noisy even for that simple task. I got one break by walking to the store and took advantage of the trip to spy on the event. Most of those on the scene appeared to be event staff from the church, with a smattering of the local street people and a few families in attendance.

Around 9:30 p.m., I invented another errand and checked out the crowd at the movie. It was sparse. The movie was in Spanish with English sub-titles.

After the movie, there was more speechifying or prayer that went on until past 11:30 p.m.

My jangled nerves and I finally got a break near midnight.

Our neighborhood, for some reason, has had several noisy events this summer. One was a day-long health fair sponsored by another church. Another was an outdoor party for a local business. A quirk of our neighborhood is that the walls of apartment buildings create a canyon-like effect that bounces loud sounds back and forth so that one can't even tell where the noise is coming from. It can be louder in our yard than it is at Park & Seventh, with all the traffic. Our normal oasis from city noise, with our deep lot, changes dramatically with the reverberations from loudspeakers.

As I said, in the overall scheme of things, our tough luck for a day isn't much, but by late afternoon I was really on edge from the prolonged noise. I couldn't imagine how people at the event could even speak to each other.

This kind of noise goes on all summer in many neighborhoods as people hold parties and such. The organizers of public events do have to get permits and the church in question did so. My concern is with the decibel level and the duration of events like the one yesterday. One of my City Council representatives has promised to look into the requirements for those obtaining permits for events, with possible reminders of permissible noise levels. 


If you have similar concerns, it's a good idea to let your elected representatives know. Summer on the block should not be marred by hours of relentless noise from others. Speak up, if that what it takes to achieve a little balance.


--Bernice