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Neighbors Say Brooklyn Tent Revival Volume So Loud, They're Praying To God It Stops

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A church group in Brooklyn says they set up a tent in Flatbush to spread the word of God. But neighbors say the message is so loud, it's keeping them up at night.

Every night for the entire month of August the Gospel Tabernacle Church hosts a spiritual revival.

Some neighbors say they're not bothered by the message. They are bothered by the volume of the message.

"Even with the windows closed, AC running, TV blasting, I feel like I'm sitting in the middle of the revival," Stacie Williams told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez.

"My son who is 4 years old, says at night 'I can't go to sleep because I can hear the church,'" Janee Harvey added.

Harvey has complained to the church group, police, city officials, and even started a neighborhood petition to get the group to quiet down. Bishop Kingsford Bloomfield said his Gospel Tabernacle Church is addressing the problem.

"We have tried to keep our levels down, but still enough so the community can hear us," Bishop Bloomfield said.

Neighbor Victor Philippe said he enjoys the service sounds.

"People, when they come to hear the word, that is supposed to change their lives and help them better themselves," Philippe said.

Despite the complaints to the revival organizer, neighbors can still hear the service loud and clear. However, they did say the volume now is noticeably lower.

Department of Environmental Protection inspectors were measuring the noise level to see if it goes beyond the 65 decibels allowed by law at night. Neighbor Tobi Parks measured illegal levels on her meter.

"Every night if this is what you had to face when you're trying to go to sleep or you're trying to have dinner with your family and you know you're hearing noise coming out, you know it definitely starts to invade all parts of your life," Parks said.

Neighbors hope soon everyone will enjoy a little peace.

The DEP said its inspectors will release the results of their noise level measurements on Wednesday.

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