Apparently from the Shaw listserv and a conversation/discussion/ friendly debate I had with Truxton Circle Scott about the BBC liquor license, noise is a theme.
It seems that someone was having a party. A loud one somewhere around N and 6th Streets. It went a little late, late enough for someone to take the mike and tell their fellow party attendees to keep it down for the neighbors before blasting more music. Loud enough for people to call the cops. If the cops came or not, little matter. In my own experience the problem is cops come, the music may get turned down, cops leave, music/noise goes back up. Neighbors lash out in variety of ways, one is cultivating deep hatred that may manifest itself at the next community ‘we all need to work together’ thing.
Scott and I were talking about some of the concerns surrounding the Big Bear Café liquor license. Scott is completely for it, even though the hours on the application go way past their current to the witching hours. And we got to talking about volunteer agreements and how they are applied where he works and where his tenant/housemate works. He’s in a completely commercial area, they close fairly early 10-11PM though they can go to 2AM, housemate in a very mixed part of Dupont, where they shut down at 10-11PM and have to gently put glass bottles in receptacles because of noise. Both are restaurants.
Scotty (you know I love you) was being dismissive of my noise concerns, saying we live in a city, it’s noisy. I was trying to relate how with different noises, some bother me, others don’t. Sirens blaring on the next street, the now rare gunshots, sometimes the call to prayer from the mosque, cars passing, odd firecrackers a block off, and buses I can tolerate enough to sleep though. Of course the 5AM-ish call to prayer has a 25% chance of waking me up a good hour before my alarm goes off and pissing me off enough to write a terse letter to the imam. People carrying on a prolonged BS session in their yards (patios/ decks) along the alley will keep me up. Dumping your glass recyclables in the alley at 2AM will definitely wake me up. Base, I can feel through my bed and is simply intolerable. If it is a car, I let it pass. If it is a neighbor I debate whether I want to get dressed and ask them to turn it down or do I want to reach over to the phone and call the cops?
There was an illegal night club on P St. near North Cap. I passed by it once when someone with drums was practicing. My impression was that it was being used as band practice space and seemed buffered by the Slater and Langston schools to be no bother to the residents of the area. Imagine my surprise when a resident who lives way on the other end of P said he could hear the music inside his house. He made an effort to shut the place down.
Some parts of the city are louder than others and the type of noise is different depending where you go.
The other morning I was awoken at 4:58am by the call to prayer at that Mosque. I am completely in favor of everyone’s right to practice their faith. I do have a problem being awoken after 10pm or before 5 or 6 am in the morning with the loudspeakers from the Mosque. Isn’t this just matter of public disturbance at that point? I want to sleep too
There is a calendar that they are supposed to adhere to regarding prayer times. I usually refer to that when sending a terse letter to the Imam. I figure he doesn’t know when his congregants (or whomever is at the mike) are getting sloppy with the prayer calls. That usually helps.
The last time I looked at a Islamic calendar, the earliest is supposed to be 5:25 in the morning. But it’s been a while. Send a letter noting the date and time to complain.