On St. Johns Place there is always plenty of activity during Outdoor Loudness Season (OLS). There is a girl in the next building over that plays guitar on her roof while singing at the top of her lungs. A neighbor a few floors up plays saxophone or some such wind instrument. And let us not leave out the piano man coming from who knows where and hosting speakeasies where people sing what appears to be the Fame soundtrack well into the wee hours of the morning. Last spring I thought I would participate in OLS by filming a music video on my roof with Cuban surf rock band The Cuban Cowboys. No sooner did the George Bush piñata get strung up then did a woman in a house coat come up to the roof and tell us to shut the hell up. Perhaps she had employed a beta version of Google Satellite Maps and saw what we were up to. Just enter 11238 into the search and click the “Satellite” link on the upper right to see who the heck it is up there making all that racket. By the way, 3 days after my failed Outdoor Loudness, this lock appeared on the door to the roof.
once again, google wins.
I love this story. And oh how I love OLS.
The PH is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood, a real neighborhood, where folks crowd the streets to enjoy the weather and life. I consider it ambient noise, something to be stoic about. It doesn’t keep me from sleeping. And if the ruckus is before 10 pm, honestly, you have no reason to complain. Just live with it. They have the right. It’s life. Love it. And, more importantly, make some noise yourselves.
Ah, finally, a name for the madness I’ve been living through…
Is there an actual end to OLS or might the terror never end?
I’m on SJP between Rogers and Nostrand, and the noise generally consists of bass-heavy cars and/or parties in the driveway directly across the street from my window. Cool.