Still Too Loud

by Melissa Bailey | June 14, 2006 5:59 PM | | Comments (6)

Good news for downtown residents driven crazy by nightlife noise: Police have “put the kibosh” on massive juice bar parties for throngs of younger teens. But some neighbors, like Anna Souchuk (pictured), still find noise so loud they’re considering moving out.

At a public meeting Tuesday, neighbors met with night club managers and state liquor officials in attempt to create dialogue. But without key “culprits” at the table, conversation returned to previous paths: Neighbors complain of music, motorcycles and trash, leaving the burden shifted back to Sgt. Martin Tchakirides (pictured), who promised cops would “pour the love” onto offending bars.

Souchuk, a Yale graduate student and vocal objector at the last meeting on this topic in April, said not much has changed since then. She pays visits to a nearby bar in PJs, pleading with DJs to turn the music down. But her apartment at 900 Chapel St. still throbs with club music.

“I pay $2,000 in rent and I feel like I should be able to sleep at night for $2,000,” she said. She just moved in in February and appeared ready to end her downtown stay. “Should we move out of downtown New Haven?” she later asked.

One former downtown resident, Katie Lipcan, already has. “Because of the ongoing problems with late-night revelers, we broke our lease early and fled New Haven (we are currently sleeping peacefully in Branford),” she wrote in an email to Downtown Alderwoman Bitsie Clark, who organized Tuesday’s meeting in City Hall.

Clark doesn’t want to see that happen to more people. She sees businesses as a sign of success. So she and the downtown management team organized Tuesday’s meeting, hoping to ease discord between clubs and residents.

But without the “culprit” bars at the table (invitations reached only a few, and the two that showed up, BAR and Hula Hanks, have reputations as being “quiet”), the debate didn’t happen.

A new noise ordinance recently passed by the Board of Aldermen sent a ray of hope. But, as Tchakirides noted last meeting, any ordinance takes at least a week to enforce, and the penalty — a $100 fine — isn’t much of a deterrent.

So conversation fell back to what Tchakirides, the downtown district manager, and fellow police can do: Keep fielding calls from neighbors, keep asking bars to close windows, and hope the two can get along.







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Comments

Posted by: Taxpayer | June 15, 2006 12:10 AM

The downtown bars serve primarily suburban young people, generate very little tax revenue or jobs, and cost the city a lot in public safety costs, clean-up, etc. Downtown residents generate taxes and supports businesses. It should be a no-brainer for the alderwoman and other city mothers and fathers as to who to support actively in this issue. If Gotham Citi, Oracle, or Alchemy opened on Audubon Street the response would be swift and clear.

Posted by: DMcMahon | June 15, 2006 10:02 AM

Why do these people live downtown if they don't like living downtown? Of course it's going to be loud if you're living in the most active part of the city. The only reason to live downtown, as I can see it, is the proximity to these kinds of establishments. They're paying all that money for the location, so they should know what comes with the location.

Posted by: Ned | June 15, 2006 11:12 AM

How about requiring minimum sound proofing, in new residential construction downtown, and getting the clubs to do the same - checking out the sound levels before certificates of occupancy or licenses are granted?

Posted by: charlie | June 15, 2006 12:29 PM

A balance can be found between the two. There is no need for hyperbole. The city may want to consider limiting certain types of businesses (e.g., ones with very loud music that plan to have over 100 people dancing at one time) in certain areas where there are high concentrations of residential, such as the ninth square. However, these types of businesses are important and there needs to be a part of the city that allows them.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | June 15, 2006 1:11 PM

"Zoo Haven" has got to go. There is no reason the bar crowd can't come, have fun, and leave, without being such a nuisance to downtown residents.

In Newport RI they did a crack-down that was amazingly effective. Get caught peeing in public, and it's a $475 fine and a short trip to the jailhouse. Hoot and holler, and ditto, a very large fine. Drive like an idiot, and you're pulled over and given an immediate breathalyzer test. The tough stance is great crowd control, and now, even at closing time, things are kept within reason...

Hats off to Alderwoman Bitsie Clark for tackling this subject.

Posted by: nfjanette [TypeKey Profile Page] | June 16, 2006 12:06 AM

If you haven't walked around Crown and Temple at 1 AM on some nights, try it. It's hard to imagine the drunken young adults that are about to get into their cars, vomiting and smashing bottles along the way, are an asset to the city. Night life is good, but things are out of control too often downtown.

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