PRE-CONSIDERED INT.: By Council Member Vallone (by request of the Mayor)

TITLE: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to sound permits

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: Amends subdivision g of section 108 of title 10 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York as amended by local law 13 for the year 1996.

On June 25, 2010, the Committee on Public Safety, chaired by Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., will hold a hearing to discuss a pre-considered introduction.  This pre-considered bill would amend the Administrative Code of the city of New York in relation to sound permits.  The New York City Police Department (NYPD), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), community groups, religious organizations, hospital groups, advocacy groups, and event organizers are all invited to attend.

New York City is well-known as a vibrant, exciting city where life is lived both indoors and outside: on sidewalks, on stoops, in parks, and in other public spaces.  Such outdoor activity – whether an informal gathering, an organized protest, or a celebratory concert – contributes to the vitality of the city.  It also, of course, causes noise in a city that already has an elevated degree of ambient noise.

Currently, if a person or organization wishes to use a “sound device or apparatus” for certain types of outdoor activity, the law requires that a permit be obtained through the NYPD.[1] Applicants for permits to use a sound device “in, on, near or adjacent to any public street, park or place” must file a written application with the police at least five days before the event for which the sound device is to be used.[2] The law outlines certain instances in which the NYPD may not issue a permit, which include, among others, when the permit is requested for a location “within five hundred feet of a school, courthouse or church, during the hours of school, court or worship, respectively, or within five hundred feet of any hospital or similar institution.”[3]

On June 17, 2010, the Congregation of Sea Breeze Synagogue and the Congregation of Temple Beth Abraham, along with several members of the synagogues, filed an action against the City of New York and Marty Markowitz, as Brooklyn Borough President, seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against the defendants with respect to the issuance of permits for the use of amplified sound at the band shell in Asser Levy Park in Brooklyn during the summer of 2010.[4] Plaintiffs claim that the band shell in Asser Levy Park is fewer than 500 feet away from their synagogues, and that the annual concert series (the Seaside Summer Concert Series) held in the band shell is contrary to administrative code section 10-108(g)(1).[5] The Seaside Summer Concert Series is a free annual concert series, held on Thursday nights in July and August, and is now in its 32nd year of existence.[6]

Administrative code section 10-108(g)(1) has its origins in parts of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New York enacted in the 1930s.   As the years passed, concerts, celebrations, protests, and other such forms of expression became an integral part of city life and the way in which the public uses parks changed significantly.  Additionally, the technology available to both create and contain noise changed, as did New York City itself.  The Council acknowledged these changes when, in 2007, it enacted a new noise code - the first revision of the noise code in 30 years.[7] The scheme for requesting permits for sound amplification, however, has not undergone such drastic revision and parts of the law remain the same as they were in the 1930s.[8] In particular, provision for a 500 foot buffer around schools, courthouses, churches, and hospitals has not been substantially altered since 1935.[9]

The pre-considered introduction that is the subject of today’s hearing would make a narrowly tailored change, applicable for ninety days only, to the law governing the issuance of permits for sound amplification devices.   By conducting a pilot program using a decibel-based rather than a distance-based standard, the city will have the opportunity to learn whether this law is ripe for the same reevaluation the noise code underwent.

Section one of the bill would amend subdivision g(1) of section 10-108 of the administrative code of the city of New York, which currently prohibits permits for sound devices to be given for locations within 500 feet of hospitals or within 500 feet of schools, courthouses, or churches during the hours of school, court, or worship.  The bill would amend the subdivision by creating an exception for applicants seeking permits for sound devices in fixed open air structures such as band shells, amphitheaters, stadiums, or other such permanent structures, provided that the applicant certify that the sound attributable to such sound device will not exceed a level of 10 dB(A) or more above the ambient sound level as measured at a distance of 15 feet or more from the perimeter of the property upon which the structure is located.  This measure of 10 dB(A), as measured at a distance of 15 feet or more from the perimeter of the property upon which the structure is located, is largely similar to the level of sound permitted between the hours of 7:00am and 10:00pm by the recently-revised noise code.[10]

The bill would take effect immediately, but would expire 90 days after enactment.  It is the Council’s intention that during this 90 day period of time the effect of the change will be evaluated and analyzed with an eye towards future improvements in the law.  The bill is limited to fixed locations such as band shells or amphitheaters so that a constant reading of ambient noise can be more easily measured.  It is the Council’s intent that the bill allow for more a more accurate permitting scheme; one that protects the needs of citizens to live in a relatively calm environment, yet also allows for expressions of thoughts, ideas, and artistry that make New York a wonderful city.  The band shells and amphitheaters throughout the city offer a wide variety of cultural, artistic, religious, and community events involving amplified sound and this bill seeks to permit the continued existence of these events, as well as to ensure that noise levels are acceptable to the surrounding community.

[1] NYC Admin. Code § 10-108.

[2] NYC Admin. Code § 10-108 (e).

[3] NYC Admin. Code § 10-108 (g)(1).

[4] See Congregation of Sea Breeze Synagogue (Gemilath Chesed-Anshe Emmeth), Congregation of Temple Beth Abraham – Conservative Congregation, Philip Liszovics, Ida Sanoff, and Alvin H. Turk v. The City of New York and Marty Markowitz, Index No. 15009/2010 (filed June 17, 2010).

[5] Id.

[6] Information about the Seaside Summer Concert Series available at http://www.brooklynconcerts.com/seaside.html.

[7] See “Have You  Heard?  New York City Has Overhauled its Noise Code!” New York City Department of Environmental Protection, p.2, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/noise_code_guide.pdf.  (noting that the new noise code reflects “the changing city landscape” and “advances in acoustic technology.”)

[8] See Code of Ordinances of the City of New York §137 (1935).

[9] See Code of Ordinances of the City of New York § 137(2) (1935) (“Special restrictions. No permit shall be issued for the use of any sound making or sound producing device within five hundred feet of a school, court house, or church during the hours of school, court or worship, respectively, nor within five hundred feet of any hospital or similar institution.”).

[10] NYC Admin. Code § 24-218(b)(2).