noise problem with neighbor: i need some serious advice here
Oct 5, 2002 at 7:49 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 45

redshifter

High Fidelity Gentility• redrum....I mean redshifter• Pee-pee. Hoo-hoo.• I ♥ Garfield
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we have this guy living above us, who blasts his rap music so we can hear it through a foot of concrete.

we've asked the apt manager to speak to him, but he still does it.

we would move, but we love our apartment. he's been here a few months, we've been here for years. this is the first place my wife and i got together and we don't want to be driven out.

tonight we tried banging on the ceiling to get him to turn it down during our dinner. he just banged back and turned it up. i went out to talk to him but he just walked by ignoring me, the little punk. wouldn't even look at me, although he looked a little scared (i'm a big guy). i wanted to grab his scrawny little neck and squeeze, but my wife stopped me.

i can't call the cops, because it is not after hours.

does anyone know any legal action i can take? my lease mentions something about not being a nuisance, which he is. can i use this? can i amend my lease to make the landlord enforce the quiet enjoyment of our apartment?

i can't let this little **** win. i don't want to go to jail, or get head-fi in any trouble. if you have ANY IDEAS of what i can do to get through to this white trash pos please pm me or post here. i am seriously ready to go postal here. please, if you know any legal recourse let me know.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 8:01 AM Post #2 of 45
Mhm, I know, I had a schematic of a 4 W all-band distortion sender, somewhere. Could be helpful in your case... For my neighbour's loud tv I'm thinking of a "magnetic gun", instead - still under construction...
biggrin.gif


Sorry, that I can't provide you with any legal info, though, because I only know about the legal situation over here - I guess, you should ask a lawyer about that...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 8:05 AM Post #3 of 45
I had the same problem with an idiot neighbor downstairs. He would always blast his turdy euro trash dance crap at 9pm and let it go on and make it loud as hell to the point where we couldn't hear the tv. My brother got fed up one day and went down to ask him to lower it down. My bro is a big guy so when the scrawny runt opened the door he was like "its not 10pm yet." So my brother insisted (got right in his face) that he turn off the music now and i went off on him and told him to buy a ****ing pair of headphones.

After that, no more loud music. Some people are just losers who think their tough guys, go tell him to turn that **** off next time and make your presence known.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 8:23 AM Post #4 of 45
gloco,
i may need to go talk to him. i have a bad temper, so if i do confront him, well i don't know. my better half doesn't want me to, so maybe i'll just have to do it anyway and she'll never know.

lini,
thanks. i'm afraid the "dirty trick" scenario may backfire here. i have used low frequency noise in the past to punish noisy neighbors, but this little **** is usually so drunk i don't think he'll notice or give a rip.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 8:45 AM Post #5 of 45
redshifter: You'd wonder, what a 4 W distortion sender in close proximity can do - with a little luck you might be able to blow his speakers, if you use it, when he cranks his equipment... You'd better turn off all your consumer electronics stuff, computers, cell phones et cetera, when doing that, though...
wink.gif


Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 10:28 AM Post #6 of 45
Hey All !!

I have a neighbor next door, same floor. He drinks a lot. He used to blast his stereo when coming back from the "night", about 3 am...

First time I called cops. Second time I banged his door. Last time I went downstairs and switch off his mains breaker !!! He went after me and asked: Are you threating me? I said: YES !!
very_evil_smiley.gif


Never happened again. But this is Brasil. Laws here are very different. So redshifter, do not let your "worst half" do this.

Lini's hi-tech distortion sender and his magnetic gun are much more intelligent way to solve all this problem.

Any way, I'm sure that if you call and ask to the police about it, they will have an answer for "before 10 pm" disturbance.

Best

Ari

BTW lini, just in case, share w/ us the schematics of the 4 W all-band distortion sender please !!!!!!!!!!!!!
evil_smiley.gif
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 1:14 PM Post #7 of 45
Quote:

Originally posted by lini
Mhm, I know, I had a schematic of a 4 W all-band distortion sender, somewhere.


Can you send the schematic to me Lini?
biggrin.gif
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 1:24 PM Post #8 of 45
Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter
gloco,
i may need to go talk to him. i have a bad temper, so if i do confront him, well i don't know. my better half doesn't want me to, so maybe i'll just have to do it anyway and she'll never know.

lini,
thanks. i'm afraid the "dirty trick" scenario may backfire here. i have used low frequency noise in the past to punish noisy neighbors, but this little **** is usually so drunk i don't think he'll notice or give a rip.



Hey Red, don't ever think your wife won't find out. She will for sure. As for solutions, as fas as I can remember, in America the neighbours associations are very similar to those here. I am really sure that you are not the only guy who hates this idiot. Try and get a bunch of signatures from the other neighbours and probably you can even get him kicked out of the building.

You can also try the confrontational alternative, but (and I can't believe I am actually writing this) you could get yourself in trouble. Better if you use another route.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 1:24 PM Post #9 of 45
I'm only really qualified to offer advice with respect to New York law, and even so I'm certainly not an expert on landlord tenant law, but there are several good sites that have information -- try a google search.

It sounds to me like the classic fact pattern for a private nuisance case (searching for nuisance might therefore help as well). Essentially, you could bring an action (in small claims court) if you can show that his music unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of your apartment. Of course, this is a last resort -- so there are a couple things you might have to think about.

First, and perhaps most important, warn the guy in writing. Keep a copy of the letter and send it by certified mail so you have a record that you complained to him. This will help a lot if you do end up going to court.

Also, I would check the local law -- see what the applicable noise ordiance states (if you want help finding it, PM me and I might be able to help).

It sounds as if you'd be justified in calling the police even though he doesn't play the music late, considering it's unreasonably loud and he plays it all the time.

Anyway, if you have a further questions, let me know.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 4:13 PM Post #11 of 45
How often do the contracts for that building come up for renewal? You could get together with other people in the building and ask the landlord to add in a clause about loud music.

For the scare tactics, get a bunch of the neighbors together while he is doing it, bang on his door (you'll have to for him to hear it), and when he opens it he'll see 10+ people out front of his door. just say "Turn it down". If he wants to argue, designate someone else to take over talking before hand so you don't get pissed and say something you shouldn't.

Anyway, the distortion sender should be a last resort. Remember that it will not only affect him, but anyone within a certain radius.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 4:31 PM Post #12 of 45
I didn't know there was a "10 PM rule?" In Texas, "disturbing the peace" can be at any time of day. I once at the police called on me by my somewhat sensitive and whiney (no, not anyone here) downstairs neighbor because I was assembling a wooden shelf at 3PM. You know how those shelf kits are--they take a half hour or so of light hammering and such. My landlord called and I told her what I was doing and she was like "Oh, ok, don't worry about it then", since the whiney neighbor already had a reputation of being whiney.

On the other hand, I've seen police at pools during the middle of the afternoon. I've seen police pull people over in cars for blasting (not often enough, but I've seen it).

I sold my old NHTs to my downstairs neighbors. They were killer spekers so he was happy to have them but it's funny to think about. On many occasion, he'd have them cranked pretty loud. But you know, it really didn't bother me because it wasn't "all the time" and because we actually communicated, if I ever was REALLY disturbed, we could talk and be ok with it. Usually when I move in to a new place and meet the neighbors I say something like "Was my stereo too loud last night?" on the first couple of nights. Psychologically as soon as they see you actually care about their feelings, they tend to be nicer to you even on the rare occasion that maybe it is just a bit loud.

My guess is that you never even met this guy until you had something to complain about. That's the crappy state of society we're in. Oh well. I still say call the police if it's obnoxious and constant--even if it's mid afternoon.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 5:49 PM Post #13 of 45
Quote:

Originally posted by kelly
I didn't know there was a "10 PM rule?" In Texas, "disturbing the peace" can be at any time of day.


Thats what I mean, He must be protected by any rule valid for all day long, not only for 10PM and after.

Sorry for my English...

Ari
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 5:52 PM Post #14 of 45
I feel your pain. Try your building management and see if they'll enforce the nuisance thing. Your lease should state something to the effect that one of the provisions of living there is you can't be a nuisance or impact the quality of life of the other tenants.

I also don't think you need to be concerned with the time of day. Disturbing the peace isn't an after hours exclusive offense. Definitely bring the cops in and file a complaint. Repeat as necessary.

And definitely avoid a confrontation if you've got a temper brewing. (and who wouldn't in this situation) Lay one hand on the kid and you could wind up facing assault charges.
 
Oct 5, 2002 at 6:48 PM Post #15 of 45
My advice to you is to talk to this person. Consistently. No need to lose your temper.

Send them a letter and send a copy to your landlord. This will make the neighbor more amenable to talking. After that, call or call on the neighbor every time the sound gets unreasonable. Eventually, you *will* wear them down and you'll have gotten inside their head -- they'll think of you when they touch the volume knob.

A woman above me used to play an electric dulcimer *on the floor* above my bedroom at three in the morning. At first, she wouldn't answer the door or the telephone. But now, she's friendly when I call and turns the music down or off right away.

I haven't even heard her for months. I suggested she move the dulcimer to another room and while she hasn't done that, she usually plays with headphones. For all I know, she's on this very forum.
 

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