Photo credit: Vecislavas Popa
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
One might think I’m writing about pickleball noise based on the title of this blog post, but I’m not. I’m writing about apartment noise complaints in New York City. As I have noted before, a very high percentage of New Yorkers live in apartment buildings of one sort or another, from rentals to condominiums to co-ops. That makes noise transmitted from adjacent housing units — whether through joint walls or across the hall — or from retail spaces on the ground floor a more pressing issue than in most other cities.
The title of this blog post comes from an article on the Cooperator News New York website, which bills itself as the co-op and condo resource. The subtitle is: “The Perpetual Issue of Noise Complaints.” The New York Times recently had a lengthy article about two neighbors who had been friends but became adversaries over a noise issue with legal fees, fines and settlements costing nearly $750,000.
The article notes that governing real estate documents in New York City (leases, condominium rules and regulations or co-op building documents) generally include a habitability clause, regarding the quiet enjoyment of one’s unit. An attorney states in the article that amicable resolutions are best, but that isn’t always easy. Sometimes the person creating the noise is unaware that it transmits to other units, and simple fixes like rubber mats under gym equipment can solve the problem. Co-op boards may have more leverage than condominium boards or managers in dealing with noise issues, but the specifics of each situation will vary.
I think the most important line is the last one. Our noise colleague Arline Bronzaft often writes that the basis of successful resolution of a noise issue is respect. A.J. Sidransky, the author of this article, uses a different term in concluding that, “a little consideration goes a long way.”
