As I wrote last month, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), responding to a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request regarding Barclays Center noise complaints and inspections, initially told me they had no responsive documents.
After my post, they soon responded, blaming a coding error--there is a "Barclays Center" file but not a "620 Atlantic Avenue" one. OK.
So they sent me 27 pages of materials, which were not particularly helpful. Some pages consisted of copies of inspection reports by DEP staff and notices of violations--several I'd already seen. (One has been sustained, and the arena paid a $3200 fine.)
Others consisted of emails from area residents to DEP to set up readings inside residents' apartments.
But there's nothing regarding what exactly the arena operators--officially, Brooklyn Events Center--are doing or considering, whether regulating the volume of concerts or making other changes in the building or show configuration.
Still, there's clearly a problem. As one inspector stated., "Prior to going to complainant's apt detected the loud bass coming from the Barclays Center. My partner and myself were parked on Atlantic Ave. and 6 Ave."
NYS is the landlord of Barclay's Center and has ultimate responsibility to direct its tenant to bring noise levels into code compliance or evict the tenant
ReplyDeleteWhy the community sits passively while bass invades their living space, is a great mystery.
At some point, the story becomes not the noise, but the neighborhood docility.