Lindenhurst Considers Noise Meters To Help Bring Peace And Quiet
LINDENHURST, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - One village on Long Island wants to quiet things down in order to keep people happy.
The tranquility of Lindenhurst's marina is not always translated to the rest of the village. Officials there are considering expanding their generic noise ordinance to now regulate more than dozen types of specific sounds.
"We've had a law in the books since 1993, and it's really never been updated to today's standards. We want to move to the 21st century," said Lindenhurst Village Mayor Mike Lavorata.
Lavorata, en engineer by trade, is considering dosimeters, which read noise levels. A dosimeter can cost $2,000-$3,000 apiece. Code enforcement officers would be armed with them when complaints come in.
"The mufflers that these young people have on their cars," one Lindenhurst resident said.
"Parties at night after hours are intrusive," said another.
Other sounds residents asked to be regulated: Incessant dog barking, blasting air conditioners, neighborhood industrial operations, construction after hours, motor boats revving.
Many grips are lodged in noise sensitive areas such as libraries and schools.
"I'd like to see how they're going to enforce it," one resident said.
"It's all about making money," said another.
"I'm firmly against it. That will curtail development down here," said a third.
"What someone might consider obnoxious, others might not. To me, a loud guitar is awesome at 95 db, and that's the way Led Zeppelin's supposed to sound. But to someone else, that's probably noise," said Lavorata.
Once decibels level proposals are fine tuned, village officials would set penalties and fines. Until then, feedback from homeowners in Lindenhurst is welcome.
Village officers hope to have the new ordinance in place by this spring when most of the seasonal noise complaints increase.
