How Loud Is Too Loud For Roosevelt Island – Amplified Noise Advisory For Capobianco Field On Saturday

Image of Speakers At Firefighters Field Last Saturday Received the following advisory from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):

Please be advised that on Saturday, October 30, 2010, from 12:00PM to 5:00PM there will be a permitted event held at Capobianco Field that will be using amplified sound. All efforts will be made to ensure minimal disturbance to surrounding areas. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Amplified noise was the subject of this email message I received last Saturday afternoon from a Southtown resident:

I think you should do a story on the use of speaker systems on Firefighters’ Field on the weekend. Right now, the field is being used for the MMC Pep Rally (?). They have large speakers blasting loudly, to the extent that it is making my walls vibrate in my apartment Riverwalk Court. A DJ is literally yelling into a microphone and I heard him say that his goal was to make everyone at the rally go deaf! I have noted that other groups have used large speakers on the field on the weekends, as well.

I called Public Safety and they said they would check to see if the group on the field had a permit. Permit or no, residents have a right to quiet enjoyment of their homes and should not be subjected to extremely loud noise that can be heard inside their homes for hours at a time. Why does RIOC permit groups to use speaker systems on the field in this manner, when there are three apartment complexes in the immediate vicinity? What can be done to change this?

I forwarded the message to RIOC and received this reply from Donna Masly , RIOC’s Programs/Permits Coordinator.

Please convey my apologies for any headaches from this weekend. The permitted group uses our field annually for their Homecoming festivities, but usually they’re able to utilize Octagon Field. A scheduling conflict caused Octagon to be unavailable, so I moved them to Firefighters. Since Octagon is a bit more out of the way, my assumption is this just hasn’t been an issue in previous years. I was unaware that amplified sound was going to be used, but to ensure this doesn’t happen again, I’ll be sure to update all permit applications and permits in regards to amplified sound restrictions. Doing the research as we speak.