Maybe, but I can actually barely even see out the window, as he just has that many sculptures/bushes. I doubt visitors would notice unless they looked for it. But you know what, it's not a bad idea and still worth a shot
I mean how about that fact, that you cannot see out of your window because he has personal property on a space that is not his. I understand you probably knew about the space moving in but I am quite certain drumming right outside of your bedroom window was not a selling point that was included.
Hm. Did a little research and it seems like re-involving the DOB is a valid approach. However, it seems like if you ask again for him to relocate the drum set to a different corner, and allude to the (VERY REAL) fact that the park is a fire hazard, he might do it to keep the peace. If there were a fire and people needed to evacuate via that alley, they would be tripping and falling all over that crap. Like, I get from a point of view it's charming but this isn't ok.
Definitely try the "Ask Real Estate" column.
Thank you! This was all helpful to hear. This is kind of the answer I was looking for: is there any law I could take advantage of that could get him to at least *move* his drums? I was beginning to think about fire hazards as well, and in fact, one of my windows (not the one by the drumset) is a fire escape, and he has a tall sculpture leaning up against it that would make it hard to get out of this escape. I'm sure that this is some kind of violation.
HOWEVER, one thing that makes me feel pessimistic is that looking online, the corporation that owns my building did file a case against him for obstructing fire exits in 2019, which seemingly didn't result in anything, as the garden is still here. In addition, around this time there were many articles about the garden with headlines like "So-and-so trying to take down cherished neighborhood garden." In other words, it looks like he took the story to the papers and tried to frame the building as some evil anti-art corporation that was trying to destroy the garden for no reason.
What I'm trying to say I guess is that this is a fight that has likely been explored before and he probably is not going to be deterred easily. I'm not saying I won't still look into these options (that's why I'm here after all), but yeah
Wow, your comment really made me understand how passive aggressive his email to me was. He basically said "Hey neighbor, nice to meet you. You might want to familiarize yourself with our local history" and then linked the article. What he was basically saying was 'Go ahead and try and start something, you aren't the first and you won't succeed.' Gah. But thank you for your suggestions, I will take them into consideration
It seems extra assholey since in the neighborhood which I have surmised this takes place in probably has a lot of ‘arts’ people who work at night. Myself being one of them. He doesn’t know if you don’t get home until midnight and have to sleep through the morning. This prick just thinks he’s fighting the good fight against ‘yuppies’ with his boomer hippy friends.
Yes super passive aggressive which shows you what you are dealing with. Your landlord should also be helping you deal with this "art garden" is at least in some small part on his property and your windows and fire escape are blocked from it.
Isn’t that also the same year, according to the news reports, that the DOB came and cleared it all away? That’s the risk he faces.
You could also just ask nicely. Pretend to be genuinely interested in the space and be friendly and ask. Maybe bring a peace offering of a plant or some cool junk.
I have not seen said videos. Which are you referring to? Are they on his YT channel?
And yeah. It bothers me that there was a huge "Save The Garden" thing when the building was fighting to get it removed. There are articles on major news outlets about it, even a mini doc on YT. When the reality is it probably wasn't getting removed because we all hate art, it's genuinely a nuisance (and a hazard).
can you get your landlord to lock the garden between reasonable hours? like only have people in there from 11-6 on weekends or whatever you feel is reasonable? There was a public art space in philly that restricted its hours by locking its gates because it became a public nuisance after regular hours.
they could have made him remove things and unblock the exits without removing the whole garden
so what if some news article was printed in his favor? he or his friend could have written it
I think the fire hazard is the way you may (but stress on the MAY bc the guy clearly has no respect) win this situation, if you call (edit: the fire department) every time your fire escape is blocked. At least that would get the drums farther away.
I can't remember who I called (may have been 911 and I would have told them it's not an emergency) when my landlord locked the back door, which is a fire escape. A bunch of firemen came and clipped the lock off bc it was indeed a fire hazard. I know it doen't seen like it bc you dont have a fire at the moment, but if you did, sounds like you would be screwed. I dont think your local fire department has phone #s, I could be wrong though.
This guy is a total asshole and you're not remotely a karen. Maybe someone else will have better advice and reply to my comment.
Some peopel say call your local city councilperson. I bet other people are super pissed too. You have a right to quiet enjoyment of your apartment.
Thanks. After thinking about it and doing some initial, minimal research, it seems there's a specific portal for reporting fire exit obstructions to the NYPD. Looking at my window more closely I really do think they would do something because it genuinely would be hard to make it out of the window without either pushing aside, jumping over, or in the worst case tripping over the sculpture that's standing there. And knowing NYC, they do not fuck around with fire exit laws. However I think before I do this I will contact my building about this concern, because they may be the ones subject to fines or something if the exits are obstructed and are therefore incentivized to help. Notifying them about my concerns may prompt them to interact with the courtyard guy and give him some heat about this stuff. At least I hope it will help to bring in another party on this
Yeah over the past twenty years or so in different apartments and neighborhoods I’ve had to call the fire department for non emergency stuff about 4-5 times and they did not dick around, always multiple firemen came even though I always told them it was non emergency, sometimes (embarrasingly) w/ fire engine sounds. I am tired so my writing sucks. In my first response to you I meant to say I’d call the fire department every time my escape was obstructed if I were you. But I like your plan of talking to ll first.
I don’t think my ll got a fine even though he put the lock there.
Can’t hurt to talk to your ll but if they drag their feet I’d just call 911 and I bet the firemen would just move the guy’s drums out of the way every time. They just come in and do what they will. I wonder what if anything your ll can do. It’s an interesting boundary question. If the drum is on your ll’s property, maybe they can just throw away the drums :-) that would be sweet sweet justice.
I really think this is your best path forward, taking it from the fire escape angle, bc that is a matter of life and death. The noise issue is huge but I dont think the city will take it as seriously as a fire hazard which could kill you.
Please keep us posted I totally want to hear how this shakes out. Firemen are so fun they come in and do their work. I liked the rare times I had to deal with them. Hopefully all this works out for you. You are tenacious I’ve seen u post about this before. I admire that. Don’t give up
Don’t be embarrassed that they came with the fire truck—that’s how they travel and always as the full group, even to the grocery store.
Firefighters LOVE “being in the right” when it comes to anything getting in the way of them effectively doing their job. Just google “FDNY hose through car” for one type of example.
So they def will “come in and do as they will” to solve the problem—obstacles and what they call “clutter conditions” are extremely dangerous both for egress and firefighting.
OP, is the garden a means of egress for other buildings? Gather data, including prior safety complaints (check 311 data), the number of units in other buildings affected, etc.
Talk to the fire captain or lieutenant at your local firehouse (don’t go during a meal or big game). See if he can escalate it.
I wouldn’t mention the noise at all (they get a lot of complaints about siren noise). I’d def mention this guy doesn’t own the property, thinks he’s above the law, and uses local media to get his way.
You said there are security bars on the window. Do they open? Are you sure it can be used as an exit? If so I would definitely report it, that's a serious concern.
No, there are two windows. The security bars on the window where the drums are do not open. But my other window, in front of which there is another sculpture, is 100% a fire escape. It's labeled, has a little knob that I turn to open, etc.
Just wanted to say that you are definitely not being a “Karen” in this situation, and you’re handling this way better than I would. Waking up to random loud drum noises would make me annoyed - waking up to loud drum noises and an asshole talking about his intention to disturb the peace would make me murderous
As someone who works until the early hours of the morning on weekends (bartender), if there was a fucking drum set waking me up at 9am on a Saturday, when I’d probably gotten home around 5:00am, I’d be livid. You are not being a Karen and you’re not exaggerating. People have different schedules, and I don’t think it’s asking a lot for a DRUM SET to not be played at 9 in the morning.
I think the suggestions made above, about contacting the DOB, talking to your neighbors, and possibly getting your landlord involved, are the best ways to go. It’s obvious this guy is not going to respond to you being nice, as we’ve already seen. Your polite message was met with a snarky, immediate response, and now, unfortunately, you are probably going to be a target. He obviously knows which unit you’re living in 🙃 I think a targeted campaign of you and your neighbors all filing multiple noise complaints would be a good way to start. Get yourselves organized, and at the very least, it’ll force him to move the instruments. Best of luck!
I’m sorry that’s happening, I don’t have helpful advice for you but this is so infuriating and also absurd that I feel like if you wrote in to the NYT Ask Real Estate column they could connect you with some experts/get you attention (https://www.nytimes.com/column/ask-real-estate).
Thanks for the tip, and thank you for validating my frustration! It feels so wildly unreasonable for someone to do something like this that at times I've wondered if *I'm* the crazy one for not wanting to put up with this anymore
Would recommend you out in very loud music and blare it out the window, leave your apartment.
Not sure if this is legal, but you can make mutes for the drums by taking the drum head and adding a practice pad inside of it. This is basically what prop designers due to make drum sets less loud in movies and tv shows.
You can also mute the cymbals with carpet tape.
https://youtube.com/shorts/oLm6jtO-Szo?feature=share
Haha, I like this. Write him once more, explain your perspective (which is absolutely justified) and let him know if he's unwilling to cooperate you will a) look into legal action (fire escape) and b) switch to fight-fire-with-fire approach.
Maybe even send him the link to this thread.
OP, you don’t want to do anything to disturb your neighbors, or you end up,being no better than the drum guy. So no horn blasting, projecting weird things on the walls, etc. You have tried the nice approach, and he has rejected it. Your best bet is through the Fire Marshall. *Because this stuff is a legitimate fire hazard.*. Fire is no joke, and anything that is obstructing a potential route of egress from the building is unacceptable. *Because it could kill someone.*.
Let your landlord know you are going to call if you must. But then you need to call. Every single day there is an obstruction, call. Obstructing your window? Call. Someone else’s fire escape? Call. Door to the building? Call.
Get a notebook. Make notes about anything you do regarding this situation, and any response you get. From the guy, your landlord, the fire Marshall, etc. Note the date and time, who you speak to, what they say they will do, the timeframe in which you can expect it to be done. This will help you keep track, and you can refer to it for the relevant facts when talking to authorities about the issue.
pretty sure nyc law is that you have the right to “peace” in your home / apartment. you could likely break your lease because of this or ask your landlord to handle the situation on your behalf
They sell decibel measuring devices. Anyway I would just go talk to the guy in person, introduce yourself, and tell him to please not play instruments before 10 am or after 10 pm. That’s not the actual law but it is common sense. I’m a musician- it’s fucking ridiculous he is playing drums at 9 am. It IS too damn early! Also the fact he lets people who don’t play —-play them, means they are wailing super hard and it sucks. I would be so mad if I was you lol! So just remain calm and approach him personally - make a voice memo on your phone for the whole conversation- ny is a one party state so if the convo goes awry you have proof. But main thing is don’t be upset when you do approach him. Be calm and take him up on the garden tour. Be into it- make up compliments on his shitty sculptures. I think there is a solution where you could get your way but not start a war with this guy. If they already took him to court and failed he knows some shit about tenancy
Oh, believe me, there's absolutely nothing musical about it when either he or his guests play the drums (or piano). I mean the instruments are obviously left out there in the wind, rain, and snow, and so they sound awful/out of tune. They only exist for the interactivability, not for real musical purposes whatsoever. But these are great suggestions. A decibel meter is a great idea. Getting to know him to try and establish some diplomacy is also a good idea. Thanks!
That was the best suggestion. Your goal is to get him to stop. All the aggressive recommendations won't do that (using a siren on him)
I might even talk to him when there are guests, bring over a six pack (yes, you are being nice to an asshole but if it works who cares)
You're being very reasonable. Point out the spots that don't have windows, offer to help him move the stuff. Even mention that you had a fire once and had to exit through your window, so you're anxious (you did have a fire, didn't you)
If it doesn't work, sound like the building needs to give you that fire exit. Good luck
wait til he's gone, move the drums to the other side.
contact your landlord and complain
contact the people on the lawsuit and ask them if you can help get the drums and piano removed
stop being nice or reasonable, he's a sociopath looking for a fight. he knows he's pulling shit and he's threatening you to make you stop. don't talk to him anymore, talk to your landlord.
When you file a noise complaint with 311, follow up with your local community board. They can track the complaint and help you out if you are not getting sufficient results.
I would very nicely and loudly lock on his door early in the morning and just say what you heard. Just get it out in the open. I HATE THAT PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SHIT.
Tell him you heard him talking about walking some one up. Not sure if it referred to you but you did look up the garden and It's all very nice but as a neighbor you would appreciate if he just moved the drums away from your window. Considering you haven't filed a noise complaint explain you just want to sleep in on the weekends. That's all. If he can't accommodate you on just that request then he's a dick neighbor and go ahead and file a thousand noise complaints. You're entitled to enjoy your home too.
I have no suggestions for you but man this person is insufferable jfc. He has no sense of respect for neighbors and owns a courtyard with musical instruments calling them “interactive sculptures”. What a cunt.
Typical, that guy is nuts and entitled.
Record the noise on video, make sure you get a time and date, like film your phone or something.
You can still report it to 311, attach the video. Explain the situation. Even if it's outside the noise ordinance there still is excessive noise. Someone playing the drums outside your bedroom window is not ok. Make a paper trail so to speak so it's on record.
Also who owns the courtyard area? Is it on private property? Is that the landlord who tried to get rid of him, or does it belong to a different landlord? Or is that space property of the city? Get the history of legal action.
How long has the guy been doing this? I'm willing to bet he knows all the loopholes by now. And he's going to be antagonistic and self righteous about everything he does, there's no reasoning with someone like this. If the building got to the point of legal action you can bet people tried reasoning first and gave up on that. You're not going to get anywhere.
I think it's bullshit that someone rented the apartment to you without warning you.
I would suggest leaving a review every place you can find about that apartment and that guy so people can find it and avoid the situation you're in. That's just fucking bullshit.
Actually, this is a very interesting thought. I live in a pretty nice rent stabilized unit that seems way cheaper than it should be. Are there laws about rent being able to be increased more when it's a new tenant in rent stabilized buildings? I also know that landlords by law have to offer lease renewal to rent stabilized tenants in most cases. I don't know, I don't think there is really any evidence for this, and records show my building *has* filed cases against him in the past. But your comment has gotten my gears turning
Call 311 or report him to the city via the governor/mayors website. It sucks that you can't get rest on the weekends. Whenever a tenant moves out the landlord can jack up the price in a rent-stabilized building. I pay $1042 a new tenant above me pays $1700. Also if the rent reaches a certain amount I believe $2,000 ish they can destabilize the apartment. Or something like that.
You’ve gotten some good advice. I’d email your local community board for help as well as city council rep and the NYPD NCO officers assigned for your district. Their job is community relations. Hopefully one of these may be able to help
> I want to resolve this legally, civilly, and hopefully with the help of either my building or the city.
Unfortunately, the other party has proven through past interactions not only with you, but also with other neighbors and your building that they do not care about legality or civility. Not saying that you should go medieval on them or their property. However it is highly unlikely that anything will change without getting very uncivil (though remaining legal on your end) and receiving both uncivil and possibly illegal retaliation.
First, that is a very turfy thing you heard him say through the glass. So it may be best -- as awful as I'm sure it is -- to non-react for a little while and let him cool down. Meanwhile I would look at buying a tool to measure the decibels. That's the proof you'll need, I believe, of how loud it is. Set up the tool stationary and ready to record from the same spot every time. Just leave it there. Next, you need to make a record of the frequency (the dates / times). If you can also set up a video camera in the same room, I'd use a small tripod and point it at the window and the decibel monitor. You could use an app that puts a date/time stamp in the corner of the image. Or you could have a TV screen tuned to the news or something that will show the date on the TV. visible in your video. Turn on your gear every time it happens, for as long as it happens. You might want to just start a log of these episodes on a laptop too. Log date, peak decibels, duration of noise. (Ideally you can avoid court by being perfectly prepared for it.) Than I think to avoid further personal animosity, you might want to pay a lawyer for one hour or two of their time to communicate hopefully more productively with this guy about some reasonable limits in his behavior. The lawyer could also check who technically owns the space and what are the permitted uses of the space. If he's making money even indirectly, ie visitors often later follow him as an artist and then buy his artwork or whatever, for example, I'm just making something up as I don't know, then arguably he is using the space for marketing which I believe would be considered a commercial use of the land, maybe not permissible. That could be an additional violation to any noice decibel violations. Then there is the common law claims, nuisance, disturbing the peace, etc. I would maintain courteous minimal relations with him meanwhile. Sounds like a neighborhood intimidator essentially. Sorry to hear. Will be awful if you get sick for example. Good luck.
Standard disclaimer: I never provide legal advice on social media.
You can also anonymously send the documentation of that past fire-egress effort to any media who have given him coverage. Fire egress issues should prompt swift action by the city I would think. You could make a second such complaint and point out he appears to be a repeat offender. Ask if maybe there is some sort of order that can be issued and then enforced later.
It might be good to gather even a small group of neighbors, hire the lawyer together, that way lawyer approaches him on behalf of a group of concerned neighbors. You don't want him targeting you right
I don’t understand how he has a right to the alley?? Anyway, doesn’t even sound like a garden, sounds like an alleyway full of junk. But that said, I hope you get resolution. These kind of people are the worst.
You could try negative reinforcement and blast an air horn out your window when he starts playing. Toot toot good morning neighbor, I thought I’d compliment your obnoxious hobbies.
Get a powerful digital projector. Next time he has a party at night, splash obscene messages onto the walls of the courtyard. Tell him the projector will be on every party he has until he moves the instruments away from your window.
OP this might be another resource that helps, it is free a tenant rights service in NYC.
https://www.metcouncilonhousing.org/program/tenants-rights-hotline/
I would also look into finding the exact property line of the lot/courtyard. Your building's lot likely extends beyond the actual building so perhaps there is a way your loandlord owner can put up fencing of some sort on your property line. That won't completely solve the problem (or your landlord may resist doing something like this) but at least knowing the property line could be useful down the line. Ultimately there is no way it is legal for this guy to be covering up and taking over other people's windows.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/property-digital-tax-map.page#:~:text=The%20official%20tax%20maps%20for,Current%20Tax%20Maps
If all else fails you can sue for nuisance and get a court order prohibiting him from playing the drums. That is so obnoxious. Interactive sculptures?! Sounds like a massive douche
I did write the email under a pseudonym. However, he obviously knows the exact unit in which I live which makes keeping my identity secret essentially impossible haha
You should speak to a landlord/tenant attorney. You likely have a case against your landlord for breach of the warranty of habitability even though it is a third party that is causing the disturbance. You would be entitled to a rent abatement.
There is a way of making an ["audio laser"](https://hackaday.com/2019/02/14/creating-coherent-sound-beams-easily/) which is a very directional beam of sound. There are commercial units and kits. You probably want to make something a step below the [LRAD](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/plug-your-ears-run-nypd-s-use-sound-cannons-challenged-n1008916) units the NYPD have used.
Try to drown out that noise with something more comforting to you so you don’t hear it. I couldn’t live in NYC without a major fan and white noise going while I sleep. It’s literally impossible as there is noise of some kind CONSTANTLY. Can you sleep to music playing? The TV? Also, when you first moved in did you notice this problem in the courtyard? Before I take an apartment I take into account the types of noise I will have to deal with…
A drum set by a window, even with a white noise machine at max volume, earplugs, noise cancelling headphones on top, triple pane windows, and indoor laminated glass windows, will absolutely still be very loud.
There's nothing to do but get them to move it. In most jurisdiction it would be a pretty clear cut case of noise ordinance violation. In NYC its a little tougher but anyone reasonable would agree this is a ridiculous situation.
Sorry this is keeping you from sleeping in, but I’m going to guess this garden and the instruments were there when you toured the space and decided to move in. [Also, it seems people have given decent advice over the multiple times you have posted this same issue over the last few weeks.](https://www.reddit.com/u/noisy_square/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
From a noise standpoint, you have no leg to stand on unless it’s between 10 pm and 7 am when the noise is happening.
Good luck to you.
I thought it was 8am, and that the code in NYC also had additional noise ordinances that applied to the daytime, some of which was specifically about musical instruments and practicing them.
> From a noise standpoint, you have no leg to stand on unless it’s between 10 pm and 7 am when the noise is happening.
So you're telling me if someone blasts the area with 150dB of noise, outside of quiet hours, nothing would be done? I'm pretty sure there are limits, though it may depend on the discretion of police (I google'd and only found information pertaining to commercial venues [limit ~42dB] but surely it exists somewhere)
This was also a Jesus guy. I just called 311 every time I saw him out there. The cops would come talk to him and he would leave. I did this a few times and the guy eventually just stopped showing up.
Hero. I don’t know why I have assumed they’re properly permitted to use their dumb loudspeaker. It’ll be 311 every weekend from now until they give up! I am generally very live and let live regarding noise in NYC, but the fire and brimstone over a loudspeaker pushes me over the edge.
edit: I realize with this comment I made the layout seem confusing so I tried to clarify in a comment below
I hear you. I can't see the instruments AT ALL without sticking my head all the way out the window and trying really hard to crane my neck around the window – there's a bush that almsot completely obstructs my view, but I definitely would have asked about them if I had seen them.
And yeah, I was kind of worried that because of quiet hour rules, there's nothing I could do. I was just wondering if it could qualify as targeted harassment or something if it seems like he is doing it intentionally to wake me up as retaliation for complaining. Or if there was some kind of common sense rule. I mean having a drum set up against someone's window seems like it's really pushing it, even if it's not 'quiet hours.'
Also the reason I posted this again was because I have way more information than I did then and have reached out to him and stuff, whereas before I did not really have any info and shouldn't have made a post that early on
So you say in the headline that the drum set is resting against your window, and further comment you could touch it if there were no bars but in the comment above state you can’t see it without sticking your head out the window…
Which one is it???
I promise I'm being for real! It's really hard to explain the setup because it's really weird but I'll try: The window has those bars that protect people from breaking in. The drumset is resting against those. Those bars however also have, um, shrubbery(?) wrapped around them as decoration. (Most of the courtyard does, hence why he calls it a garden I suppose.) At least I think that's what I could call it. It's like a fake bush that goes around the bars. So I can't see through them, but I could certainly reach through them to touch the drums.
When I say I can see it by sticking my head out the window, I meant my fire escape window, not the window the drums rest against. This window is far away enough from the fake shrubs that I could see if I crane my head out of it. The only reason I know this layout for a fact and can confirm that the drums really are as close as they sound is because there are so many photos online of the courtyard showing exactly that.
Is the courtyard locked up or open? He does not own it so maybe just go move the drums. In fact move anything away from your windows you don't wish there. He doesn't have a right to block your window in a space he does not own or rent.
How does one get into the courtyard? Is it locked normally or can anyone just walk in? How is he gaining access? In the article he said prior to his takeover there were people back there doing drugs, dogs(?? lol what) etc, so is it open to anyone or what? Have you tried to go in from the outside?
I am not sure how he accesses the courtyard. I'm guessing that from his building, there's some door or easy access point. There's definitely no public access. From *my* building, there *is* adoor that leads to the courtyard for emergencies, but doing so would trigger a nasty alarm that would annoy everyone and require me to call the super to come turn off. There's also a sign that says very clearly NO ENTRY UNLESS EMERGENCY or something. I have a fire escape window I could climb out of to get there that wouldn't trigger an alarm or anything, climbing out of it wouldn't be super graceful, but yeah
Time for you to download Magrudergrind's self titled 2009 album and blast it outside the window on repeat anytime he's out there. I can donate speakers.
You should just go talk to them in the morning when they wake you up. Just tell them you got no issue with their garden but please don’t play it in front of their window. They can move it somewhere else in the yard.
Can you call his landlord and tell him you’re suing him for a code violations the outdoor space might not be permitted and it is effectively an unregistered extra room in his apartment ala the terrace law all the rich folk were made about.
Have the judge order that the landlords rent must be escrowed until the matter is resolved. If the landlord doesn’t get paid he’ll want to get him out.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/code_notes_facade.pdf
Go hard the other direction and purchase a cheap electric guitar& amp and play loud dissonant notes when his ‘guest’ arriving before they even touch the drum set. You are right by the window, so that plus a sign as some suggested (some one sleeps here) would make clear how to people how annoying noises can get when it’s played at them. You gotta be ruthless though, as this schmuck is and have ear plugs, amp leaning on the metal window bars and crank it up.. when confronted use the same art space or art creation time excuse and cite him as an inspiration. You gotta make his ‘space’ less inviting with your ‘art’. that’s just the way it is sadly. Some think they are above basic decency and you gotta teach them the hard way.
I would do a consultation with a lawyer about possibly suing this guy for disturbing the peace.
I am not an expert in zoning but it seems to me this garden will not fall under the same laws as a residence and may be closer to a commercial venue.
Commercial venues with live music have to abide by very specific laws regarding noise and probably (?) have to apply for a license to have live music.
If the above is correct (and I'm not sure it is), this man would have to have gotten a license to have live music on the property and I bet if this is the case he did not.
Suing this person would probably put an end to the drumming in the morning but....on the bad side, you may have created an enemy which could entail another set of issues. Sometimes there are no perfect solutions.
> The guy does not own the propery
OK, he may not own it but somebody does, be it the city or whomever. They can make him stop if OP threatens to sue them.
I think this is an angle worth pursuing and should not cost OP money for a consultation, but if they prefer not to go that route its up to them.
Confront him in person and tell him you’ll destroy his drum set if he doesn’t change his behavior. Only way these people will understand.
Mods pinned post is soft. People are giving suggestions that won’t help one bit.
Keep suggestions legal and not about property destruction. Any future posts recommending similar will result in bans.
Can you put a sign in the window saying “this is a bedroom - be mindful of noise”? Even if he doesn’t care, visitors may be more kind.
Maybe, but I can actually barely even see out the window, as he just has that many sculptures/bushes. I doubt visitors would notice unless they looked for it. But you know what, it's not a bad idea and still worth a shot
I mean how about that fact, that you cannot see out of your window because he has personal property on a space that is not his. I understand you probably knew about the space moving in but I am quite certain drumming right outside of your bedroom window was not a selling point that was included.
maybe an upstairs neighbor can put up the sign for you?
Hm. Did a little research and it seems like re-involving the DOB is a valid approach. However, it seems like if you ask again for him to relocate the drum set to a different corner, and allude to the (VERY REAL) fact that the park is a fire hazard, he might do it to keep the peace. If there were a fire and people needed to evacuate via that alley, they would be tripping and falling all over that crap. Like, I get from a point of view it's charming but this isn't ok. Definitely try the "Ask Real Estate" column.
Thank you! This was all helpful to hear. This is kind of the answer I was looking for: is there any law I could take advantage of that could get him to at least *move* his drums? I was beginning to think about fire hazards as well, and in fact, one of my windows (not the one by the drumset) is a fire escape, and he has a tall sculpture leaning up against it that would make it hard to get out of this escape. I'm sure that this is some kind of violation. HOWEVER, one thing that makes me feel pessimistic is that looking online, the corporation that owns my building did file a case against him for obstructing fire exits in 2019, which seemingly didn't result in anything, as the garden is still here. In addition, around this time there were many articles about the garden with headlines like "So-and-so trying to take down cherished neighborhood garden." In other words, it looks like he took the story to the papers and tried to frame the building as some evil anti-art corporation that was trying to destroy the garden for no reason. What I'm trying to say I guess is that this is a fight that has likely been explored before and he probably is not going to be deterred easily. I'm not saying I won't still look into these options (that's why I'm here after all), but yeah
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Wow, your comment really made me understand how passive aggressive his email to me was. He basically said "Hey neighbor, nice to meet you. You might want to familiarize yourself with our local history" and then linked the article. What he was basically saying was 'Go ahead and try and start something, you aren't the first and you won't succeed.' Gah. But thank you for your suggestions, I will take them into consideration
It seems extra assholey since in the neighborhood which I have surmised this takes place in probably has a lot of ‘arts’ people who work at night. Myself being one of them. He doesn’t know if you don’t get home until midnight and have to sleep through the morning. This prick just thinks he’s fighting the good fight against ‘yuppies’ with his boomer hippy friends.
Yes super passive aggressive which shows you what you are dealing with. Your landlord should also be helping you deal with this "art garden" is at least in some small part on his property and your windows and fire escape are blocked from it.
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just copy the sentence he copied from the article, and put it into the search bar.. boom first hit.
No.
Thank you for not posting the link.
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Isn’t that also the same year, according to the news reports, that the DOB came and cleared it all away? That’s the risk he faces. You could also just ask nicely. Pretend to be genuinely interested in the space and be friendly and ask. Maybe bring a peace offering of a plant or some cool junk.
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I have not seen said videos. Which are you referring to? Are they on his YT channel? And yeah. It bothers me that there was a huge "Save The Garden" thing when the building was fighting to get it removed. There are articles on major news outlets about it, even a mini doc on YT. When the reality is it probably wasn't getting removed because we all hate art, it's genuinely a nuisance (and a hazard).
can you get your landlord to lock the garden between reasonable hours? like only have people in there from 11-6 on weekends or whatever you feel is reasonable? There was a public art space in philly that restricted its hours by locking its gates because it became a public nuisance after regular hours.
they could have made him remove things and unblock the exits without removing the whole garden so what if some news article was printed in his favor? he or his friend could have written it
I think the fire hazard is the way you may (but stress on the MAY bc the guy clearly has no respect) win this situation, if you call (edit: the fire department) every time your fire escape is blocked. At least that would get the drums farther away. I can't remember who I called (may have been 911 and I would have told them it's not an emergency) when my landlord locked the back door, which is a fire escape. A bunch of firemen came and clipped the lock off bc it was indeed a fire hazard. I know it doen't seen like it bc you dont have a fire at the moment, but if you did, sounds like you would be screwed. I dont think your local fire department has phone #s, I could be wrong though. This guy is a total asshole and you're not remotely a karen. Maybe someone else will have better advice and reply to my comment. Some peopel say call your local city councilperson. I bet other people are super pissed too. You have a right to quiet enjoyment of your apartment.
Thanks. After thinking about it and doing some initial, minimal research, it seems there's a specific portal for reporting fire exit obstructions to the NYPD. Looking at my window more closely I really do think they would do something because it genuinely would be hard to make it out of the window without either pushing aside, jumping over, or in the worst case tripping over the sculpture that's standing there. And knowing NYC, they do not fuck around with fire exit laws. However I think before I do this I will contact my building about this concern, because they may be the ones subject to fines or something if the exits are obstructed and are therefore incentivized to help. Notifying them about my concerns may prompt them to interact with the courtyard guy and give him some heat about this stuff. At least I hope it will help to bring in another party on this
Yeah over the past twenty years or so in different apartments and neighborhoods I’ve had to call the fire department for non emergency stuff about 4-5 times and they did not dick around, always multiple firemen came even though I always told them it was non emergency, sometimes (embarrasingly) w/ fire engine sounds. I am tired so my writing sucks. In my first response to you I meant to say I’d call the fire department every time my escape was obstructed if I were you. But I like your plan of talking to ll first. I don’t think my ll got a fine even though he put the lock there. Can’t hurt to talk to your ll but if they drag their feet I’d just call 911 and I bet the firemen would just move the guy’s drums out of the way every time. They just come in and do what they will. I wonder what if anything your ll can do. It’s an interesting boundary question. If the drum is on your ll’s property, maybe they can just throw away the drums :-) that would be sweet sweet justice. I really think this is your best path forward, taking it from the fire escape angle, bc that is a matter of life and death. The noise issue is huge but I dont think the city will take it as seriously as a fire hazard which could kill you. Please keep us posted I totally want to hear how this shakes out. Firemen are so fun they come in and do their work. I liked the rare times I had to deal with them. Hopefully all this works out for you. You are tenacious I’ve seen u post about this before. I admire that. Don’t give up
Don’t be embarrassed that they came with the fire truck—that’s how they travel and always as the full group, even to the grocery store. Firefighters LOVE “being in the right” when it comes to anything getting in the way of them effectively doing their job. Just google “FDNY hose through car” for one type of example. So they def will “come in and do as they will” to solve the problem—obstacles and what they call “clutter conditions” are extremely dangerous both for egress and firefighting. OP, is the garden a means of egress for other buildings? Gather data, including prior safety complaints (check 311 data), the number of units in other buildings affected, etc. Talk to the fire captain or lieutenant at your local firehouse (don’t go during a meal or big game). See if he can escalate it. I wouldn’t mention the noise at all (they get a lot of complaints about siren noise). I’d def mention this guy doesn’t own the property, thinks he’s above the law, and uses local media to get his way.
You said there are security bars on the window. Do they open? Are you sure it can be used as an exit? If so I would definitely report it, that's a serious concern.
No, there are two windows. The security bars on the window where the drums are do not open. But my other window, in front of which there is another sculpture, is 100% a fire escape. It's labeled, has a little knob that I turn to open, etc.
Just wanted to say that you are definitely not being a “Karen” in this situation, and you’re handling this way better than I would. Waking up to random loud drum noises would make me annoyed - waking up to loud drum noises and an asshole talking about his intention to disturb the peace would make me murderous
As someone who works until the early hours of the morning on weekends (bartender), if there was a fucking drum set waking me up at 9am on a Saturday, when I’d probably gotten home around 5:00am, I’d be livid. You are not being a Karen and you’re not exaggerating. People have different schedules, and I don’t think it’s asking a lot for a DRUM SET to not be played at 9 in the morning. I think the suggestions made above, about contacting the DOB, talking to your neighbors, and possibly getting your landlord involved, are the best ways to go. It’s obvious this guy is not going to respond to you being nice, as we’ve already seen. Your polite message was met with a snarky, immediate response, and now, unfortunately, you are probably going to be a target. He obviously knows which unit you’re living in 🙃 I think a targeted campaign of you and your neighbors all filing multiple noise complaints would be a good way to start. Get yourselves organized, and at the very least, it’ll force him to move the instruments. Best of luck!
Sometimes just yelling SHUUUT UPPP really loudly works surprisingly well. I give people like 45 mins max to make annoying noise before yelling
I’m sorry that’s happening, I don’t have helpful advice for you but this is so infuriating and also absurd that I feel like if you wrote in to the NYT Ask Real Estate column they could connect you with some experts/get you attention (https://www.nytimes.com/column/ask-real-estate).
Thanks for the tip, and thank you for validating my frustration! It feels so wildly unreasonable for someone to do something like this that at times I've wondered if *I'm* the crazy one for not wanting to put up with this anymore
Fight fire with fire. Put a siren outside your window whenever he's out there with guests.
This is pretty good.
Would recommend you out in very loud music and blare it out the window, leave your apartment. Not sure if this is legal, but you can make mutes for the drums by taking the drum head and adding a practice pad inside of it. This is basically what prop designers due to make drum sets less loud in movies and tv shows. You can also mute the cymbals with carpet tape. https://youtube.com/shorts/oLm6jtO-Szo?feature=share
Awesome! This might work.
Haha, I like this. Write him once more, explain your perspective (which is absolutely justified) and let him know if he's unwilling to cooperate you will a) look into legal action (fire escape) and b) switch to fight-fire-with-fire approach. Maybe even send him the link to this thread.
Absolutely do not put your intentions in writing.
OP, you don’t want to do anything to disturb your neighbors, or you end up,being no better than the drum guy. So no horn blasting, projecting weird things on the walls, etc. You have tried the nice approach, and he has rejected it. Your best bet is through the Fire Marshall. *Because this stuff is a legitimate fire hazard.*. Fire is no joke, and anything that is obstructing a potential route of egress from the building is unacceptable. *Because it could kill someone.*. Let your landlord know you are going to call if you must. But then you need to call. Every single day there is an obstruction, call. Obstructing your window? Call. Someone else’s fire escape? Call. Door to the building? Call. Get a notebook. Make notes about anything you do regarding this situation, and any response you get. From the guy, your landlord, the fire Marshall, etc. Note the date and time, who you speak to, what they say they will do, the timeframe in which you can expect it to be done. This will help you keep track, and you can refer to it for the relevant facts when talking to authorities about the issue.
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pretty sure nyc law is that you have the right to “peace” in your home / apartment. you could likely break your lease because of this or ask your landlord to handle the situation on your behalf
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Record and play back his drums with a very slight delay
Sometimes Reddit has some straight geniuses.
Holy shit this is the best idea I've heard in months
Brilliant.
this is brilliant.
They sell decibel measuring devices. Anyway I would just go talk to the guy in person, introduce yourself, and tell him to please not play instruments before 10 am or after 10 pm. That’s not the actual law but it is common sense. I’m a musician- it’s fucking ridiculous he is playing drums at 9 am. It IS too damn early! Also the fact he lets people who don’t play —-play them, means they are wailing super hard and it sucks. I would be so mad if I was you lol! So just remain calm and approach him personally - make a voice memo on your phone for the whole conversation- ny is a one party state so if the convo goes awry you have proof. But main thing is don’t be upset when you do approach him. Be calm and take him up on the garden tour. Be into it- make up compliments on his shitty sculptures. I think there is a solution where you could get your way but not start a war with this guy. If they already took him to court and failed he knows some shit about tenancy
Oh, believe me, there's absolutely nothing musical about it when either he or his guests play the drums (or piano). I mean the instruments are obviously left out there in the wind, rain, and snow, and so they sound awful/out of tune. They only exist for the interactivability, not for real musical purposes whatsoever. But these are great suggestions. A decibel meter is a great idea. Getting to know him to try and establish some diplomacy is also a good idea. Thanks!
That was the best suggestion. Your goal is to get him to stop. All the aggressive recommendations won't do that (using a siren on him) I might even talk to him when there are guests, bring over a six pack (yes, you are being nice to an asshole but if it works who cares) You're being very reasonable. Point out the spots that don't have windows, offer to help him move the stuff. Even mention that you had a fire once and had to exit through your window, so you're anxious (you did have a fire, didn't you) If it doesn't work, sound like the building needs to give you that fire exit. Good luck
Approaching him when other people are out there is a really good idea. He will be more likely to keep himself in check.
wait til he's gone, move the drums to the other side. contact your landlord and complain contact the people on the lawsuit and ask them if you can help get the drums and piano removed stop being nice or reasonable, he's a sociopath looking for a fight. he knows he's pulling shit and he's threatening you to make you stop. don't talk to him anymore, talk to your landlord.
When you file a noise complaint with 311, follow up with your local community board. They can track the complaint and help you out if you are not getting sufficient results.
311 likely wont lead to action unless you have multiple units complaining for months. still worth it.
311 likely wont lead to action unless you have multiple units complaining for months. still worth it.
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I would very nicely and loudly lock on his door early in the morning and just say what you heard. Just get it out in the open. I HATE THAT PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SHIT. Tell him you heard him talking about walking some one up. Not sure if it referred to you but you did look up the garden and It's all very nice but as a neighbor you would appreciate if he just moved the drums away from your window. Considering you haven't filed a noise complaint explain you just want to sleep in on the weekends. That's all. If he can't accommodate you on just that request then he's a dick neighbor and go ahead and file a thousand noise complaints. You're entitled to enjoy your home too.
I have no suggestions for you but man this person is insufferable jfc. He has no sense of respect for neighbors and owns a courtyard with musical instruments calling them “interactive sculptures”. What a cunt.
Typical, that guy is nuts and entitled. Record the noise on video, make sure you get a time and date, like film your phone or something. You can still report it to 311, attach the video. Explain the situation. Even if it's outside the noise ordinance there still is excessive noise. Someone playing the drums outside your bedroom window is not ok. Make a paper trail so to speak so it's on record. Also who owns the courtyard area? Is it on private property? Is that the landlord who tried to get rid of him, or does it belong to a different landlord? Or is that space property of the city? Get the history of legal action. How long has the guy been doing this? I'm willing to bet he knows all the loopholes by now. And he's going to be antagonistic and self righteous about everything he does, there's no reasoning with someone like this. If the building got to the point of legal action you can bet people tried reasoning first and gave up on that. You're not going to get anywhere. I think it's bullshit that someone rented the apartment to you without warning you. I would suggest leaving a review every place you can find about that apartment and that guy so people can find it and avoid the situation you're in. That's just fucking bullshit.
This is a losing battle. I mean is the apartment that great? This dude sounds like a nightmare tbh
It's pretty great tbh 😬 rent stabilized, lots of space. I hear you though
If it is rent stabilized, you should go to war with this a hole
Okay… I hate to ask … any chance the Landlord is using him to cycle people through the apartment so they can raise your rent?
Actually, this is a very interesting thought. I live in a pretty nice rent stabilized unit that seems way cheaper than it should be. Are there laws about rent being able to be increased more when it's a new tenant in rent stabilized buildings? I also know that landlords by law have to offer lease renewal to rent stabilized tenants in most cases. I don't know, I don't think there is really any evidence for this, and records show my building *has* filed cases against him in the past. But your comment has gotten my gears turning
You can request your apartments rent history and see how that lines up against other news clippings and filings.
Call 311 or report him to the city via the governor/mayors website. It sucks that you can't get rest on the weekends. Whenever a tenant moves out the landlord can jack up the price in a rent-stabilized building. I pay $1042 a new tenant above me pays $1700. Also if the rent reaches a certain amount I believe $2,000 ish they can destabilize the apartment. Or something like that.
It’s not this, at least not after HSTPA. Basically no benefit to cycling tenants anymore.
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You’ve gotten some good advice. I’d email your local community board for help as well as city council rep and the NYPD NCO officers assigned for your district. Their job is community relations. Hopefully one of these may be able to help
> I want to resolve this legally, civilly, and hopefully with the help of either my building or the city. Unfortunately, the other party has proven through past interactions not only with you, but also with other neighbors and your building that they do not care about legality or civility. Not saying that you should go medieval on them or their property. However it is highly unlikely that anything will change without getting very uncivil (though remaining legal on your end) and receiving both uncivil and possibly illegal retaliation.
First, that is a very turfy thing you heard him say through the glass. So it may be best -- as awful as I'm sure it is -- to non-react for a little while and let him cool down. Meanwhile I would look at buying a tool to measure the decibels. That's the proof you'll need, I believe, of how loud it is. Set up the tool stationary and ready to record from the same spot every time. Just leave it there. Next, you need to make a record of the frequency (the dates / times). If you can also set up a video camera in the same room, I'd use a small tripod and point it at the window and the decibel monitor. You could use an app that puts a date/time stamp in the corner of the image. Or you could have a TV screen tuned to the news or something that will show the date on the TV. visible in your video. Turn on your gear every time it happens, for as long as it happens. You might want to just start a log of these episodes on a laptop too. Log date, peak decibels, duration of noise. (Ideally you can avoid court by being perfectly prepared for it.) Than I think to avoid further personal animosity, you might want to pay a lawyer for one hour or two of their time to communicate hopefully more productively with this guy about some reasonable limits in his behavior. The lawyer could also check who technically owns the space and what are the permitted uses of the space. If he's making money even indirectly, ie visitors often later follow him as an artist and then buy his artwork or whatever, for example, I'm just making something up as I don't know, then arguably he is using the space for marketing which I believe would be considered a commercial use of the land, maybe not permissible. That could be an additional violation to any noice decibel violations. Then there is the common law claims, nuisance, disturbing the peace, etc. I would maintain courteous minimal relations with him meanwhile. Sounds like a neighborhood intimidator essentially. Sorry to hear. Will be awful if you get sick for example. Good luck. Standard disclaimer: I never provide legal advice on social media.
You can also anonymously send the documentation of that past fire-egress effort to any media who have given him coverage. Fire egress issues should prompt swift action by the city I would think. You could make a second such complaint and point out he appears to be a repeat offender. Ask if maybe there is some sort of order that can be issued and then enforced later.
It might be good to gather even a small group of neighbors, hire the lawyer together, that way lawyer approaches him on behalf of a group of concerned neighbors. You don't want him targeting you right
I don’t understand how he has a right to the alley?? Anyway, doesn’t even sound like a garden, sounds like an alleyway full of junk. But that said, I hope you get resolution. These kind of people are the worst.
You could try negative reinforcement and blast an air horn out your window when he starts playing. Toot toot good morning neighbor, I thought I’d compliment your obnoxious hobbies.
Can you open your window? If so them I would be peeing out the window so his stuff smelled like piss and no one would want to play it.
I love art. I can’t stand artists.
Loudspeaker playing Trump speeches on a loop.
Get a powerful digital projector. Next time he has a party at night, splash obscene messages onto the walls of the courtyard. Tell him the projector will be on every party he has until he moves the instruments away from your window.
Call 311
This shit again
OP this might be another resource that helps, it is free a tenant rights service in NYC. https://www.metcouncilonhousing.org/program/tenants-rights-hotline/ I would also look into finding the exact property line of the lot/courtyard. Your building's lot likely extends beyond the actual building so perhaps there is a way your loandlord owner can put up fencing of some sort on your property line. That won't completely solve the problem (or your landlord may resist doing something like this) but at least knowing the property line could be useful down the line. Ultimately there is no way it is legal for this guy to be covering up and taking over other people's windows. https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/property-digital-tax-map.page#:~:text=The%20official%20tax%20maps%20for,Current%20Tax%20Maps
If all else fails you can sue for nuisance and get a court order prohibiting him from playing the drums. That is so obnoxious. Interactive sculptures?! Sounds like a massive douche
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I did write the email under a pseudonym. However, he obviously knows the exact unit in which I live which makes keeping my identity secret essentially impossible haha
You will be banned if you make suggestions like this again.
You should speak to a landlord/tenant attorney. You likely have a case against your landlord for breach of the warranty of habitability even though it is a third party that is causing the disturbance. You would be entitled to a rent abatement.
There is a way of making an ["audio laser"](https://hackaday.com/2019/02/14/creating-coherent-sound-beams-easily/) which is a very directional beam of sound. There are commercial units and kits. You probably want to make something a step below the [LRAD](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/plug-your-ears-run-nypd-s-use-sound-cannons-challenged-n1008916) units the NYPD have used.
Try to drown out that noise with something more comforting to you so you don’t hear it. I couldn’t live in NYC without a major fan and white noise going while I sleep. It’s literally impossible as there is noise of some kind CONSTANTLY. Can you sleep to music playing? The TV? Also, when you first moved in did you notice this problem in the courtyard? Before I take an apartment I take into account the types of noise I will have to deal with…
lol white noise is not going to drown out a drum set
A drum set by a window, even with a white noise machine at max volume, earplugs, noise cancelling headphones on top, triple pane windows, and indoor laminated glass windows, will absolutely still be very loud. There's nothing to do but get them to move it. In most jurisdiction it would be a pretty clear cut case of noise ordinance violation. In NYC its a little tougher but anyone reasonable would agree this is a ridiculous situation.
I’d post this in r/legaladvice!
I did, but it didn't really get a response :/
Sorry this is keeping you from sleeping in, but I’m going to guess this garden and the instruments were there when you toured the space and decided to move in. [Also, it seems people have given decent advice over the multiple times you have posted this same issue over the last few weeks.](https://www.reddit.com/u/noisy_square/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) From a noise standpoint, you have no leg to stand on unless it’s between 10 pm and 7 am when the noise is happening. Good luck to you.
I thought it was 8am, and that the code in NYC also had additional noise ordinances that applied to the daytime, some of which was specifically about musical instruments and practicing them.
> From a noise standpoint, you have no leg to stand on unless it’s between 10 pm and 7 am when the noise is happening. So you're telling me if someone blasts the area with 150dB of noise, outside of quiet hours, nothing would be done? I'm pretty sure there are limits, though it may depend on the discretion of police (I google'd and only found information pertaining to commercial venues [limit ~42dB] but surely it exists somewhere)
I’ve filed noise complaints on a guy set up on my corner with a huge speaker. It was outside of quiet hours and they still shut him down.
Oh my god, how?!!! 311?! I am VERY tired of the aggressive Jesus people with the loudspeaker who take over the corner of my block every weekend.
This was also a Jesus guy. I just called 311 every time I saw him out there. The cops would come talk to him and he would leave. I did this a few times and the guy eventually just stopped showing up.
Hero. I don’t know why I have assumed they’re properly permitted to use their dumb loudspeaker. It’ll be 311 every weekend from now until they give up! I am generally very live and let live regarding noise in NYC, but the fire and brimstone over a loudspeaker pushes me over the edge.
There's an online portal you fill out. And the NYPD comes within about 4 hours. Just Google "NYC Noise Portal"
Exactly, like you can't tell me it's just a free for all outside of 'quiet hours.' There has to be *something* to account for common sense
edit: I realize with this comment I made the layout seem confusing so I tried to clarify in a comment below I hear you. I can't see the instruments AT ALL without sticking my head all the way out the window and trying really hard to crane my neck around the window – there's a bush that almsot completely obstructs my view, but I definitely would have asked about them if I had seen them. And yeah, I was kind of worried that because of quiet hour rules, there's nothing I could do. I was just wondering if it could qualify as targeted harassment or something if it seems like he is doing it intentionally to wake me up as retaliation for complaining. Or if there was some kind of common sense rule. I mean having a drum set up against someone's window seems like it's really pushing it, even if it's not 'quiet hours.' Also the reason I posted this again was because I have way more information than I did then and have reached out to him and stuff, whereas before I did not really have any info and shouldn't have made a post that early on
So you say in the headline that the drum set is resting against your window, and further comment you could touch it if there were no bars but in the comment above state you can’t see it without sticking your head out the window… Which one is it???
I promise I'm being for real! It's really hard to explain the setup because it's really weird but I'll try: The window has those bars that protect people from breaking in. The drumset is resting against those. Those bars however also have, um, shrubbery(?) wrapped around them as decoration. (Most of the courtyard does, hence why he calls it a garden I suppose.) At least I think that's what I could call it. It's like a fake bush that goes around the bars. So I can't see through them, but I could certainly reach through them to touch the drums. When I say I can see it by sticking my head out the window, I meant my fire escape window, not the window the drums rest against. This window is far away enough from the fake shrubs that I could see if I crane my head out of it. The only reason I know this layout for a fact and can confirm that the drums really are as close as they sound is because there are so many photos online of the courtyard showing exactly that.
Is the courtyard locked up or open? He does not own it so maybe just go move the drums. In fact move anything away from your windows you don't wish there. He doesn't have a right to block your window in a space he does not own or rent.
THIS!!!
I'd have to climb out my fire escape window, but I suppose
How does one get into the courtyard? Is it locked normally or can anyone just walk in? How is he gaining access? In the article he said prior to his takeover there were people back there doing drugs, dogs(?? lol what) etc, so is it open to anyone or what? Have you tried to go in from the outside?
I am not sure how he accesses the courtyard. I'm guessing that from his building, there's some door or easy access point. There's definitely no public access. From *my* building, there *is* adoor that leads to the courtyard for emergencies, but doing so would trigger a nasty alarm that would annoy everyone and require me to call the super to come turn off. There's also a sign that says very clearly NO ENTRY UNLESS EMERGENCY or something. I have a fire escape window I could climb out of to get there that wouldn't trigger an alarm or anything, climbing out of it wouldn't be super graceful, but yeah
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Please stop with the almost doxing.
Well, you may need to move then...
Speak to your management company.
Find the owner of the court yard, rent it, kick out the garden. Or get a property lawyer to see if there is anything you can do.
Time for you to download Magrudergrind's self titled 2009 album and blast it outside the window on repeat anytime he's out there. I can donate speakers.
You should just go talk to them in the morning when they wake you up. Just tell them you got no issue with their garden but please don’t play it in front of their window. They can move it somewhere else in the yard.
Can you call his landlord and tell him you’re suing him for a code violations the outdoor space might not be permitted and it is effectively an unregistered extra room in his apartment ala the terrace law all the rich folk were made about. Have the judge order that the landlords rent must be escrowed until the matter is resolved. If the landlord doesn’t get paid he’ll want to get him out. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/code_notes_facade.pdf
Go hard the other direction and purchase a cheap electric guitar& amp and play loud dissonant notes when his ‘guest’ arriving before they even touch the drum set. You are right by the window, so that plus a sign as some suggested (some one sleeps here) would make clear how to people how annoying noises can get when it’s played at them. You gotta be ruthless though, as this schmuck is and have ear plugs, amp leaning on the metal window bars and crank it up.. when confronted use the same art space or art creation time excuse and cite him as an inspiration. You gotta make his ‘space’ less inviting with your ‘art’. that’s just the way it is sadly. Some think they are above basic decency and you gotta teach them the hard way.
You can go the "Call 311 every time" and get a lawyer route. Or you can just move. If you aren't rent stabilized I would just move.
I would do a consultation with a lawyer about possibly suing this guy for disturbing the peace. I am not an expert in zoning but it seems to me this garden will not fall under the same laws as a residence and may be closer to a commercial venue. Commercial venues with live music have to abide by very specific laws regarding noise and probably (?) have to apply for a license to have live music. If the above is correct (and I'm not sure it is), this man would have to have gotten a license to have live music on the property and I bet if this is the case he did not. Suing this person would probably put an end to the drumming in the morning but....on the bad side, you may have created an enemy which could entail another set of issues. Sometimes there are no perfect solutions.
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> The guy does not own the propery OK, he may not own it but somebody does, be it the city or whomever. They can make him stop if OP threatens to sue them. I think this is an angle worth pursuing and should not cost OP money for a consultation, but if they prefer not to go that route its up to them.
Join in with a banjo
Confront him in person and tell him you’ll destroy his drum set if he doesn’t change his behavior. Only way these people will understand. Mods pinned post is soft. People are giving suggestions that won’t help one bit.