Finding Ways to Deal With a Neighbor’s Noise at Home
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Bill Primavera
When I rented my first apartment on my own in New York City (well, actually the quaint neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights), I was in seventh heaven: living independently after a rough patch of sharing an apartment with two other guys and having no real privacy.
The apartment was in a brand-new building and I was one of its first tenants. The upper floor apartments hadn’t been finished yet, so I took an apartment on the second floor of a five-story building. I was happy as could be in the quiet solitude of my own place – until the apartment above me was rented and I was suddenly made painfully aware that the building wasn’t very well sound proofed, especially from the floor above.
A young single mother moved in with a very active five- or six-year-old daughter. Then, I was sharing my privacy with the click of high heels, combined with the patter of little but horsey feet. I realized for the first time in my life that I must be very sensitive to sound, and I was unhappy waiting in anticipation of the next clamor of footsteps across the floor above.
I found out my neighbor’s name from the directory in the lobby and looked up her telephone number, all of this before the advent of cell phones. Armed with that information, I began to call her up whenever her child’s running around became too much for me to live with. The relationship between us became so strained that at one point she sent her boyfriend down to bang on my door and threaten to punch me out.
My only alternative to going mad was to find another apartment. Rather than walk out on my lease, something I had done a couple of times without consequence, I sublet to a nice couple. When they asked if the tenants upstairs were quiet, I said, oh yes, conceding that occasionally I heard the woman’s heels on her way to work.
Ever since that time, I have sought apartments and condos with no one living above me. I recognize that not everybody is as sensitive to neighbor noise as I am, but I guess we all have our own requirements for living happily.
There were other times when my quest for quiet involved conflict. At one point, my wife and I moved to Boston for a career change and we rented a penthouse floor apartment in a new building where there was only one other occupied apartment on the same floor. And wouldn’t you know it, that apartment was rented to two airline stewardesses who would hold raucous parties on the weekends that always spilled out into the hallway.
Not wanting to have direct confrontation with them, I called the police to quiet the place down. Afterwards, again, there was a knock on my door and when I looked through the peephole, it was some bouncer-type guy standing there, threatening to punch me out. Why were my attempts at peace and quiet always resulting in the threat of physical violence? I started to think it was me.
Of course, there are all sorts of noises we can’t control. For instance, I always find myself in a less relaxed state when the lawn downstairs from my condo is being mowed or the carpet in the hallway is being vacuumed. But it’s all tolerable, especially if I distract myself with earphones playing pleasant music.
There was another period in my life where I found a certain outside noise intolerable, but it was quite a sensitive matter. I bought an antique home across the street from Guiding Eyes for the Blind where as many as 70 dogs would be let outside to “socialize” for most of the daylight hours. The organization called it socializing, but I called it unreasonable noise.
I was certain that something could be done to have the organization be more accommodating to its neighbors, so I formed a coalition of surrounding residents to see if we could find a solution. It wasn’t the most popular of efforts considering the purpose of the organization, but after some years we managed to have the school build soundproof kennels and the problem was solved.
Speaking of barking dogs, some towns, such as Yorktown where I live, have limitations on the time that a dog can be allowed to bark outside.
As I finish this column, I am aware of the humming buzz of my air conditioning system. But let’s not get neurotic about things.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest-running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com). To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
