Woodhaven

WRBA & 102 Pct. Battle Residential Noise

With the arrival of warm weather comes a wave of noise complaints from residents of Woodhaven.  And the 102 Precinct gets deluged every night, but particularly weekends, by 311 Noise complaints.  Captain Martin Briffa of the 102 told us this week that on this past Saturday Night (June 16th) the 102 Precinct had 17 concurrent noise complaints.  It's a problem that's spiraled out of control.

Take a look at the following map, which highlights the locations of residential noise complaints in Woodhaven since the beginning of May.  Larger yellow circles represent a higher number of calls.

The WRBA is working closely with the 102 Precinct, speaking with them regularly over the past few weeks.  They are working hard on the problem and we are very happy to report that they issued 11 summonses this past weekend -- at $150 a pop!  We are hopeful that this tactic continues and alters the behavior of chronic noise abusers.

Other chronic noise abusers received personal visits from the 102 Precinct and were issued warnings.  If you have a chronic noise abuser on your block, and you are frustrated -- tortured by loud parties that go on until all hours of the night -- you should work with the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association.  We have handed over a list of chronic noise abusers to the 102 Precinct -- these are locations that (a) residents have reported to us; and (b) have multiple 311 reports.

You need to call 311.  We've spoken to residents who say calling 311 is a waste of time, but if you feel that way you are not looking at the big picture.  Calling 311 helps to build a case against chronic noise abusers and makes it easier to resolve those issues.

If you have a chronic noise abuser on your block, contact the WRBA -- email us at info@woodhaven-nyc.org or call us at 718-296-3735.  We can't promise that the noise will cease immediately -- but we can promise it will get attention and that's the 1st step to solving the problem.

If you do not work with the WRBA, you will be working on your own to resolve your problem -- making it much more likely that you will have a noisy summer.

Woodhaven Town Hall Meeting on Rezoning Jan 21

The Woodhaven Residents Block Association will host a presentation by the NYC Department of City Planning on Saturday, January 21st at 1 PM.  The meeting will be held at the Woodhaven Volunteer Ambulance Corps (78-15 Jamaica Avenue).  

The new zoning laws will determine the size and shape of Woodhaven in the very near future.  The question is -- do you want Woodhaven to expand housing, to expand development in the resedential areas.  The current proposal seeks to discourage development -- to avoid furthering the overcrowding that has resulted in limited parking, more noise and traffic, more garbage and a depletion of services.  Schools are already complaining of overcrowded classes -- the city has been looking to cut down on services such as transit and firefighting.  

Think of how much worse these problems will be with apartment houses, or extra-large housing popping up all over the place.

This is your best chance to learn about this proposal -- and show support for it to protect your investment in this community.  If you won't speak up to protect your investment, to protect your family, to protect your family -- what exactly will you speak up for?

Saturday, January 21st at 1 PM is your chance to speak up.

Woodhaven Fights Noise Online

You're getting ready for bed, but you know you won't be getting any sleep because -- once again -- there's a huge party on your block.  It's after midnight, they've got 3 dozen people in their backyard, they've got 6-foot tall speakers, and the music is rattling your windows.

You think about calling 311 but you remember what happened the last time you called -- you were on hold for 35 minutes before you gave up.  And even if you got through, the police aren't going to respond that evening.  But it is very important that you, and your neighbors, make it known who is making life miserable in Woodhaven.

So, here's some instructions on how you can quickly and easily file the noise complaint online.

Note:  This is not going to solve the noise problem in Woodhaven.  It will take a number of different approaches.  But all roads lead back to having a solid database of chronic noise offenders.  If we don't file noise complaints -- and keep track of them -- they will never get resolved.

Entering a Noise Complaint Online

1) Click here to access 311's Night Noise Survey.  

2) Enter a description of the noise -- and enter the date and time.  Then click the arrow to move to the next screen.

3) At the next screen identify the type of location, the borough, the street address and any other pertinent information about the location.  (Note: We have blurred out the address in the image below).  It is extremely important that you enter the exact address.  Once you are done with this screen, click the arrow.     

Once you click the arrow, 311 will verify the street address you entered.  This may take a moment or two -- be patient.

4) Next, review all of the information that you've entered.  If you spot a mistake, you can click edit to go back and change it.  When finished, you need to look at the letters in the graphic, enter it into the box, and click Submit Form.

The 311 system will display the following while your complaint is being submitted.  Please be patient,  it will take a moment or two.

5) Last step, the 311 system will display a message that your complaint has been successfully submitted.  It will give you a Service Request Number.  

You Need To Keep This Number and Report It To The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association. 

You can e-mail it to the WRBA at info@woodhaven-nyc.org.  Or, you can call the WRBA at 718-296-3735 (if no one answers, leave a message). 

Please pass along (1) the street address as well as (2) the Service Request Number.

The WRBA will build a database of chronic noise locations and advocate on your behalf that action be taken.  And once increased fines are in place, thanks to Councilman Eric Ulrich's pending change to the Noise Bill, these locations will be visited.

Here is a brief video showing you how easy it is to enter a noise complaint online:

 

 
Pass this link along to your friends and (especially) your neighbors.  Let's start building that database. 

Click here for a printable version of these instructions.