Noise Complaint - Brooklyn NY

[magicact]

I live in the Gerritsen Beach section of Brooklyn NY. My wife, twelve-year-old daughter and I live in a 1 family home that is approximately one and half or two feet from my next-door neighbors property. My neighbor built a deck on the side of his house which extends from the back to the front of his property and right up to the fence which separates our houses. We are not sure if the deck is legal and under normal circumstances we have no problem with this wood deck.

However, just recently the owner of the property built a jumping ramp on the deck so that his twelve-year-old son and his friends can use for skate boarding. The noise of the skate board(s) is equivalent to a freight train going through our house. I spoke and asked the owner if there was something we can work out so that we do not have to listen to this noise for hours and hours. The owner/fathers initial response was "this is my house and they can skate on the deck until ten at night". I asked the owner to come into our home and listen to the noise. The owner responded by saying I am in my house and I hear it too. With that, he told the kids to go play in the street.

The next day seemed to be better. The kids were on the deck again but for a short time. They seemed to be playing mostly in the street. Later in the day, they once again started using the deck. I was able to access the NYC Buildings Dept. web site and found out that they do not have a permit for the deck.

My daughter is unable do her schoolwork, my wife and I work full time and have very little down time as it is. This situation is preventing us from watching TV, talking on the phone This is starting to have a devastating effect on our health and we feel we can no longer live in our own home.

 

[mightymoose]

It seems you have a few options if the neighbor won't cooperate- but the easiest solution is to try and work it out with him.

If you need to, look into the procedure to make a complaint to the building department regarding the lack of a permit. They can do an inspection and might find a number of problems requiring changes... one of those problems might be the proximity to your house.

If it is truly a serious problem you can go through the civil court to try and get a cease/desist order... and any proof of construction without a permit might just help you get that.

Look through your local ordinances for other things that might be applicable.

Calling someone out for the inspection will surely set off a negative tone between you and your neighbor, but if you can't work it out yourselves then that is pretty much the way you need to go.

 

[fredrikklaw]

This is a form of Private Nuisance!

Magicact:

For what it's worth, I am in complete sympathy with you and cannot help feeling irritated and annoyed as if I was there in your house and having to listen to that kind of noise, and of course, having a psychopath for a neighbor not only does not help matters much, it tends to add to and aggravate the problem and the suffering as well. But there is a way out of this dilemma through the civil courts and it sounds very much like you have been left with no choice but to litigate.

There is a form of civil action known as Private Nuisance which is used to redress a civil harm caused by the use of a person's property. A private nuisance is an interference with another person's enjoyment and use of his land. The law recognizes that landowners, or those in rightful possession of land, have the right to the unimpaired condition of the property and to reasonable comfort and convenience in its occupation.

And there are two recognized forms of private nuisances; Nuisance interfering with the physical use of the land and nuisance which interferers with the comfort, convenience, and health of the occupant, the latter being the one you are suffering from. And some examples of private nuisances are foul odors, noxious gases, smoke, dust, loud noises, excessive light, or high temperatures that are also recognized to affect and disturb an occupant's (neighbor's) mental tranquility.

Meanwhile, you may want to take out a Temporary Restraining Order which will hopefully give you some breathing space to formulate your next civil move.

Wish you peace, quiet, and above all, decent neighbors!

fredrikklaw