GRRRR
Some of you may know part of this story. About a year after we moved into our house, a jazz and blues club opened up the street (nothing was there before). Not really my kind of music, but as a musician it was nice to see a venue opening up for local artists. What was not nice was hearing every single note of the harmonica inside my house, at the far end of the street, with the doors and windows closed. You can imagine what the bass line was like.
After a few months, the neighbors convened. We started documenting the noise ordinance violations, worked with the police, and finally called our city council members to report that the lawyer we had contacted recommended a lawsuit against the city for failing to enforce the noise ordinance. Things improved.
Within the last year, things have gotten worse again. The police no longer respond to noise complaints. The music is getting louder, and not just on weekends. They now have several weeknights involving things like "rock & roll karaoke." Imagine trying to get to sleep with bad 70's and 80s butt rock pounding through your house. It's gotten so bad that one of our neighbors who lives a few houses down from the club has put her house on the market. She toughed it out through the crack dealers and crack houses of the 80's, but 6 years of this has been too much for her (If I were her, I'd sue the club for all of my moving costs and real estate agent fees).
Last night, at 1 am, I went down to the club to inform them that I could hear every note of the Journey cover band inside my house. I discovered that the front door of the club was propped wide open. The bouncer refused to close it. The manager's initial response was "It's Saturday night." Oh, yes, he really said that. It wasn't until I threatened to call the police that they finally closed the door. I got home and I could still hear the music, inside the house, with the doors and windows closed; it was just a bit more muffled.
So I think on Monday it's time to call the city council member who I let put up a campaign sign in my yard. I'm also semi-seriously considering finding the home address of the owner and showing up at his house at 5 am to play bagpipe music. And I'll be checking into the OSHA regulations on employee noise exposure. I wonder what else an OSHA inspector could turn up? Talking to a lawyer again is definitely on the list.
After a few months, the neighbors convened. We started documenting the noise ordinance violations, worked with the police, and finally called our city council members to report that the lawyer we had contacted recommended a lawsuit against the city for failing to enforce the noise ordinance. Things improved.
Within the last year, things have gotten worse again. The police no longer respond to noise complaints. The music is getting louder, and not just on weekends. They now have several weeknights involving things like "rock & roll karaoke." Imagine trying to get to sleep with bad 70's and 80s butt rock pounding through your house. It's gotten so bad that one of our neighbors who lives a few houses down from the club has put her house on the market. She toughed it out through the crack dealers and crack houses of the 80's, but 6 years of this has been too much for her (If I were her, I'd sue the club for all of my moving costs and real estate agent fees).
Last night, at 1 am, I went down to the club to inform them that I could hear every note of the Journey cover band inside my house. I discovered that the front door of the club was propped wide open. The bouncer refused to close it. The manager's initial response was "It's Saturday night." Oh, yes, he really said that. It wasn't until I threatened to call the police that they finally closed the door. I got home and I could still hear the music, inside the house, with the doors and windows closed; it was just a bit more muffled.
So I think on Monday it's time to call the city council member who I let put up a campaign sign in my yard. I'm also semi-seriously considering finding the home address of the owner and showing up at his house at 5 am to play bagpipe music. And I'll be checking into the OSHA regulations on employee noise exposure. I wonder what else an OSHA inspector could turn up? Talking to a lawyer again is definitely on the list.