Photo credit: Life Of Pix
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
Like so any residents in the United States who have purchased homes in areas that they believed would be restful, musician Vanessa Carlton and her husband John McCauley have learned that quiet might not be a guarantee. McCauley and Carlton live in Warwick, Rhode Island near a noisy construction facility. The construction facility has been dealing with local opposition for their noise activities for years. In 2019, the owners were denied the right to build storage units along the nearby Pawtuxet River.
Carlton said in this Boston Globe article that she can no longer relax in her own home, or use it undisturbed for at-home music rehearsals. The sound levels measured on the property, according to the article, exceeded the town’s legal sound limits. The couple was granted a temporary restraining order, but the noise has since continued.
The couple took their case to court where Carlton described how the sounds from the construction facility disturbed her and her husband every week day. In court, the construction company’s attorney asked Carlton if she was aware that she purchased a home next to an “industrial zone.” She responded that she had, and she was also aware of nearby flight paths and road traffic. Carlton and her neighbors are also complaining about noise from a nearby trail.
We await the outcome of Carlton’s court case.
