State lawmakers and local officials are trying to give The City That Never Sleeps some peace and quiet. But some car and motorcycle enthusiasts say they have every right to be loud.
by Samantha Maldonado Feb. 25, 2022, 4:14 p.m. Updated March 14, 2024, 2:21 p.m.
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Additional reporting by Suhail Bhat
It could be doom for the vroom.
That’s what officials and light sleepers are hoping for when a state law aimed at deterring noisy, souped-up vehicles goes into effect this spring, coupled with an ongoing pilot program by the city to automatically detect and ticket loud roadsters.
The goal is to address ear-splitting clamor from cars and motorcycles amid a rising volume of complaints. The revving of engines, popping of tailpipes and blaring of speakers add to the cacophony of urban life and can pose health threats to New Yorkers.
Exposure to noise can cause hearing loss, exacerbate stress and disrupt sleep, experts say.
“Short of it affecting blood pressure, cardiovascular disorders, it diminishes quality of life,” said Arline Bronzaft, professor emerita of Lehman College and a longtime researcher on the effects of loud sounds on our psyches.
Many New York City residents welcome the enforcement, while some car and motorcycle enthusiasts think the efforts are misguided.
Ricardo Picon, a photographer and former musician who lives with his wife in Bushwick, said the noise from modified cars has interrupted his sleep and made his home tremble, especially in the warmer months.
“I come from being a night person and dealing with sound and dealing with noise. This is how crazy it is. It got to the point where it became a nightmare,” he said. “You don’t need to measure the decibels to hear how it rumbles two or three blocks… This has become an epidemic in the boroughs.”
Noise complaints, specifically for loud vehicles, rise and fall seasonally, and they’ve been on the upswing since the pandemic began. Glendale, Queens, which shares a border with Picon’s neighborhood, saw the second-highest number of complaints of loud vehicles per zip code, right after Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, since 2018.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Stop Loud and Excessive Exhaust Pollution Act into law in October and it will take effect in April.
The SLEEP Act raises fines from $150 to $1,000 for any illegal modifications of mufflers and exhaust systems that allow cars and motorcycles to become noisier.
The law applies to not only vehicle owners who seek the modifications, but the repair shops that make them or sell relevant parts. The shops can stand to lose their operating license or certificate to inspect vehicles if they’re caught three times within 18 months.
The aim is to “crack down on the supply issue and really stop these mufflers from being installed in the first place,” said Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn), who sponsored the bill.
“It’s incredibly obnoxious and antisocial behavior to put a jet engine on the back of a souped-up Mazda and ride down Third Avenue on a Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock.”
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