Crazy Loud Neighbor Question

Tell the super one more time but be stern and pissed. If nothing fixes, call the police and try to get him in trouble for some sort of lewd behavior. If it's bad enough, record it and sue. Just off the top of my head...

Find his electric in the basement.
Shut off his breaker for 5 mins.
Turn it back on.
Next time he offends keep it off 10 mins.
Each time longer. He'll get the message.

Can you talk to his other neighbors? If they are also similarly bothered and are willing to co-sign a letter, send one to management (certified mail so it's on record) requesting they take specific action to address the situation. Maybe they would welcome such a letter if he is rent controlled ie it might be what they need to kick him out and mark up their unit.If this doesn't work send a 2nd letter copying your attorney (or any friend who is indeed a lawyer) and indicate you feel the clause about "warrant of habitability" (or somethng to that effect - it's in your agreement) is being violated and you are going to therefore withhold rent - but in an seperate escrow account to show you intend to pay. At this point they will either initiate action against your neighbor or you. In the latter case they'd probably gladly let you out of your lease; in the former you get some peace and quiet. I am not trying to make it sound easy... this is just the plan I would consider.

>>call the police and try to get him in trouble for some sort of lewd behavior.<<

Forget the lewd behavior angle. There are noise ordinances that tenants must abide by, stabilized or not. First contact your landlord. Then call the police. And call again. And again. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

hi - why can't he be brought into court as a holdover for the noise? possibly even evicted?
i would totally call the cops on him.
i had a similar situation - the downstairs neighbor played loud TV & video games. i reported him to the cops many times over 2 or 3 months, then one day a cop told me they had given him a summons. police get tired of responding to the same place over & over, so your neighbor will probably get a summons.

I know the polite thing to do is to try to reason with him, but I don't recommend it. I've called the police on a loud neighbor before (anonymously) and I would do the same again. People are a lot less likely to respond to the polite appeal of a neighbor than they would to an authority figure. I would have called my landlord, but they are a total slum lord and definitely wouldn't have even answered the phone.

Summons for what?

noise i guess. playing loud music & TV after hours. like 2 am. the cop who spoke to me said they had given him a summons for noise. i also lived across the street from a police precinct.

find a computer hacker (easy on craigslist), expose the problem and let him find the solution. the old dude will never figure out what hit him.

Sorry to say, but you won't win this fight with the rent control tenant. Not by being angry at the super (who doesn't care), or sending a certified return receipt letter to the landlord (who doesn't care), via the police, or the pleasure you are pretending you'll get in front of a judge, or by escalating nuissances suggested by truthskr or midtowner.

This tenant has been in place, if he's rent controlled, since at least 1971. This tenant has been harassed by the landlord to get him out in order to re-rent to someone like you paying much more. This tenant was in Hell's Kitchen in NYC in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s.

How often did this place turn over? Probably every year or two, with a frustrated, well-intentioned new tenant like you. And the landlord didn't care because it helped increase the rent each time under the rent stabilization rules, and then possibly ultimately to non-regulated.

So, to your question about getting out ... depending on how bold you want to be, stop paying rent, forget the stupid suggestions about sending a lawyer's letter which will be viewed as a joke, forget about setting up an escrow account as if you are getting in front of a judge to prove your good faith, forget terms like "warranty of habitability", find a new place and move there using your security deposit as your last month's rent. Your landlord is also a pragmatic New Yorker, and after sending you a lawyer's letter, threatening to sue you, etc. he's moving on to finding the next sucker to live in the place.

op, just curious why you find it necessary to mention that you paid a full fee to rent this unit.

Lighten up Jim. It's a natural feeling that he's sunk money into the place and doesn't want to lose money in this overall - it has nothing to do with the broker in particular or brokers in general. Not much different from someone who won't sell a losing stock because they paid a higher price, or an underwater house because they paid more.

he didnt mention the rent, just that he paid a fee.

and im sure he can answer for himself. in other words, shut the fuck up.

yes indeed. jim.

take your own advice

shut the fuck up.

>he didnt mention the rent, just that he paid a fee.

I'm pretty sure that he pays rent. Wouldn't that be consistent with your vast experience?

>and im sure he can answer for himself. in other words, shut the fuck up.

I should shut up because you tell me to? Maybe if you and columbiacounty team up and together tell me to shut up, I'll consider it. But you have to team up, not just coincidentally both tell me to shut up.

hberg, the op doesnt say "hey, im paying almost 3k a month in rent", only that he paid a fee. i ask again why bring that up. the question is for him to answer.

Oh, sorry, once again, I suppose I'm not allowed to post unless both you and columbiacounty say it is ok for me to post.

But idiot, the broker fee was a cost of finding the apartment. The rent is a current expense. By leaving, he doesn't recoup the broker fee. Does that make ANY sense?

hberg, post whenever you like. answering a question addressed to someone else in any format is a douchebag thing to do.

>Is there a way to break a lease for this my rather non-habitable apartment?
yes.

I assume the prior tenant had the same problem, so it's possible/probable the landlord knows. Sounds like the super also knows.

You can hire a landlord-tenant attorney & let yr attorney handle it.
You can write a certified letter to both landlord & neighbor & fight it yourself. You can ask landlord to release you from the lease by the end of the month or when ever. Read your lease & cite the lease language which talks about 'quiet enjoyment' & noise.

And, yes, you can call 911 & have the cops come. That way, you'll have a police report.

You can also call the rental broker & see if he'll help you get out of this lease & find a new place at a discounted fee (or no) fee.

good luck.

>jim_hones10
13 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse

hberg, post whenever you like. answering a question addressed to someone else in any format is a douchebag thing to do.

So you and columbiacounty have the same rules. Interesting.

and you both break this rule. also interesting. why did you feel the need to answer on behalf of the op here?

Are you afraid of different points of view?

no. i couldnt care less what your point of view is, about anything. i asked the op, an answer on their behalf from you is annoying, and bad form on your part.

You don't care about my point of view but you are worried about my form?

I would try to talk politely and even consider giving him a headphones (should be $100 or less). Most peaceful way to get it resolved, if not necessarily fair). If it does not work, bang on his door early am when he is asleep. Or when you are away during the day, play something really annoying as long as it does not bother the other neighbors.

So hard not to get naughty with this thread. Have you spoken to your neighbor?

When we had loud neighbors who would regularly play loud music at 3am we would 'gently' remind them that the wall works both ways by putting our electric alarm clock (beeeeep, beeeep, beeeep) up against the wall at 4:30 am when my husband got up for work.

Usually did the trick for at least a month or two.

call 911 and report that you hear the sound of a raping

Thanks for all the suggestions. The latest talk from the super has worked to a degree, but if (hate to say when) it happens next I will see if the police will get involved. I haven't spoken to him personally as the one time I banged on the door no one answered. Kind of disgusting when you think about it though to bang on someone's door when they are enjoying porn.

maybe apt23 can tell caonima about the consequences of filing a false police report?

If you're going to call the police, you have to start with 311 each time. You need to get the complaint number each time and follow up. If you don't do this, you won't have a valid noise complaint. ( The problem with noise/DEP complaints is that the inspector usually doesn't come when the noise is occurring.) Once you have a few complaint numbers, you can talk to the community affairs officer at your precinct. With enough complaints, s/he will likely go over and talk to the neighbor. This is the only thing that worked with our neighbors who had 3-day non-stop parties in their backyard. (They roasted goats, too.) After their chat with the C.A. officer, we haven't had a peep out of them for two years.

People having 3 day parties are social people. The OP is dealing with an entrenched anti-social person.

I hear watching porn together helps the relationship

Read your lease. You are usually entitled to "quiet enjoyment" of your apartment in one of the clauses. If you have complained several times to management, and there's no change, you can legally break your lease. I would write a few letters and send them to management certified return receipt requested for legal proof that you a) advised them of the problem and b) gave them a chance to correct it in a reasonable amount of time.

Think the Head phone idea is genius. I have a relative who visits on occasion and needs tv to go to sleep at night, they come with their own wirelesss head set, and happily crash on the couch for the evening. Perfect solution.

If you call the precinct when a neighbor is torturing you with boisterous parties or a stereo blasting into the wee hours of the morning, the police will respond -- after they've attended to more serious matters. "You've got to understand that these are not priority calls, and sometimes we can't get there till hours later," says Inspector Bob Burke, a public information officer. "So if the noise continues for hours and no one has showed up, call again. By the time a car's available, the precinct may assume the party's over -- unless you call back." The police presence is enough to quiet down many parties, but if the offender's obdurate -- won't even open the door, the police can't use force. They can issue a notice of violation -- which the noise-maker must respond to before the city's Environmental Control Board. The police issued 500 of these sporadic noise violations last year. 275 offenders paid fines, 25 cases were dismissed, and the rest are working their way through the system. Penalties are $125 to $500; if the racketeer does not respond to the complaint, the E.C.B.'s collection attorney will try to collect a default penalty.

>if the racketeer does not respond to the complaint, the E.C.B.'s collection attorney will try to collect a default penalty.

Once again, you fail to understand who you are dealing with. Like I said above, this rent control tenant (in place since 1971 or earlier) has likely been subject of harassment and all legitimate attempts at eviction by his landlord who is seeking to turn over the place for higher rent (i.e. there's a real economic motive, rather than just a nuissance motive). Furthermore, this tenant lives in Hell's Kitchen and lived in Hell's Kitchen during the 90s. And 80s. And 70s. And possibly before. Hell's Kitchen wasn't always a nice cozy place.
And this tenant, if he's not sly like a fox, would otherwise be represented by one of the agencies or charities that deals with the needy. This tenant, in front of the landlord / tenant court judge, or in front of the administrative judge that this ECB collection attorney ultimately has to answer to, will always win. "Oh sorry judge, my hearing is bad, I didn't realize. It wasn't porn - I'm a religious man and I go to Mass every day/week, it was National Geographic I was watching. The pills I have to take for my x,y, or z (columbiacounty, please fill in here some of the typical problems you have) put me to sleep sometimes when my TV is on and because I turn off my hearing aide I can't hear well. I can't pay because I'm on fixed income social security." ... and on and on. The judge of course knows half of this is bullshit because this judge has been around for a while, but the judge is taking the easy way out and isn't going to challenge an old person in favor of just about anyone else.

Did you know that if you are a board member of any organization in NYC that receives a government grant, that you'll have to certify that, not only aren't you a criminal, but that you have paid your water and sewage bills to the city? Why's that relevant?- because it shows how difficult it is for the city to ordinarily enforce such run of the mill collections. Good luck Mr. ECB collection attorney.

You won't win. You can't win. Find another solution ... move out using your deposit as your last month's rent. Move on. Oh, also check into that full broker's fee you paid to get the place. :)

Ordered some wireless headphones. They were only $199 for the top of the line Sony. Some decent ones available for $100. Just buy one for your neb and forget about the fairness of this gift.

300, why would the neighbor trouble himself with wearing headphones? It's not like he would suffer negative consequences for continuing on his course, and the landlord of a RS building has no reason to fight a losing battle.
Anyway, OP, if you are still here: 1- write a registered letter to your LL, mentioning any previous conversations with neighbor, police or super, indicating that the apartment is not habitable due to the noise, asking for a different place away from the crazy loud horndog (be polite and business-like, in case all of this ends in front of a judge); 2- call your broker to ask for help moving; 3-when the landlord tells you to go fish, write a second letter to break your lease and ask for your security deposit back; 4- move and forget about all of it, unless your landlord drags you to housing court.

>unless your landlord drags you to housing court.

Housing Court has no jurisdiction here once there is no tenancy. Landlord will have to sue in ordinary old civil court and the only recourse is money. It's highly unlikely that the landlord will bother more than sending a couple of letters, registered, unregistered, from a lawyer, whatever - doesn't matter... do not respond to any of them.

I suggest using your security as a last month's rent too but don't wait until the 30th of the month to move out.

what do you do when the neighbor is an owner?

Earplugs?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/staying-sane-in-small-spaces/?hp

This is an easy lawsuit in small claims. He is interfering with your ability to enjoy your own apartment. You should write him a letter -- do everything in writing -- and mail it to him and also stick it under his door. You should call 311 every single time, over and and over. Get complaint numbers. Then take him to small claims court and ask for a calculated amount -- say $50 per violation. Write down the dates of each one, record it with the camera on your phone and narrate what is happening and make sure it can record the sound or at least get some sense that it is happening. When he appears in front of a judget and you have all this evidence he will need to pay you a lot of money. Finally, I would take his photo and post it all over the building that he plays loud porn. Next, post it in the neighborhood. He could possible sue for that but i dont think it is likely.

...and then in the real world...

This reminds me of living in San Francisco ten years ago. My neighbors below were two gay guys (not to sound homophobic, but rather to give the story more detail) who would return late from clubbing. One of the guys was a bad drunk and alcoholic, prone to venting his psychological demons. The other guy would lock him out, and this dude would yell up from the street to be let in, banging the metal gate and ranting about how 'Andrew' had shamed him that night. It would go on and on despite the landlord being alerted, cops being called, neighbors shouting from other windows, etc.

After the third or fourth incident I slipped a note under their door .. "Fuck with my sleep one more time and you will NOT like the result. Two words: Betty Ford." It seemed to do the trick, at least for the remainder of the time I lived there.

We had this problem in my building with renters. My pro-gay bias had me convince the other board members to allow these three young gay guys to rent, even though they all needed their parents as guarantors. "They'll be fabulous!" I pleaded, with promises of a spotless and whisper-quiet, tastefully decorated apartment, and maybe even a few helping hands to help beautify the courtyard and even home-baked cookies at building socials they would help plan.

I couldn't have been MORE WRONG. It turned into an absolute nightmare. The fact of the matter is, 20-something gay guys suck, both literally and figuratively, as neighbors, just as much (if not more) than their straight counterparts. At least THIS generation of 20-something gays. Same deal as tpushbklyn described: drunk every night, loud arguments, doors slamming, everything a fucking drama, locking each other out of the apartment, banging on the doors, jilted boyfriends showing up in the middle of the night, banging on the door ... some of of them even caught shimmying up the fire escape.

Never ever again. Minimum age for renters is now 30 in our building, and no more of this roommate bullshit. Either the primary applicant can afford the apartment on his own, or he can't.

> Minimum age for renters is now 30 in our building,

Illegal restriction.

Sorry, but the image of an elderly man pleasuring himself while wearing headphones (especially those big ones) is one I now can't get out of my mind.

Thanks...

Brings back memories of the couple who lived across the hall from me back in the day. The one dude was constantly locking the other dude out of the apartment, leaving the other dude to bang on the door, weeping and screaming to be let in. At 3am. After which the dude would finally collapse in a hysterical puddle on the hall floor, cursing and blubbering til he finally passed out. Fun times.

Take him to NYC Housing Court. This is what I did years ago with two noisy neighbors above me. They moved out. The man in the rent controlled apartment will not want to be evicted if he loses and will stop his nonsense, I guarantee you.

"Minimum age for renters is now 30 in our building,

Illegal restriction."

Deal with it. The discrimination can't be proven. Move on.

We have you on tape.

Ring his bell posing as a door to door dildo salesman, then whack him with your longest & heaviest one.

Problem solved.

As a postscript to that 14 month old question, nothing changed and I moved.

Now someone else can pay a fee to a rental agent who knows but will not disclose the problem, and deal with it. Maybe that person will have free time/backbone to get revenge. Such is life.

Try a co-op next time if you can buy.

There is no law saying you can't set a minimum age. There are plenty of senior communities in the burbs that have a minimum age of 50 +

"My pro-gay bias had me convince the other board members to allow these three young gay guys to rent, even though they all needed their parents as guarantors."

If I lived in a co-op where the board president was putting their bias ahead of the well being of the co-op, I'd move to have that president removed from the board ASAP.

Well played Socialist.

Matt: can't believe I missed this. You, biased?

Greensdale is an antagonist. PLease SHUT UP

Greensdale is a New Yorker with real world experience.
Guy with cat, well, is a guy with a cat. One wonders if the cat is the one posting ... your "easy lawsuit" in small claims has no basis in the actual manner in which the court operates. The court will not award you $50 for each time you have a noise complaint. I'd call you an idiot, but I'll give you that if your cat is actually the one posting, that's pretty remarkable no matter the gibberish.

Simply hang this on his doorknob:

http://www.sextoy.com/m/Product/TO1590686

Oops, I didn't think to incognito my browser before clicking that. We'll see how Google slants my search results now....

Not to worry - if image shape is used as a determinant, ads may come up for neck pillows or horseshoes!

the argument was based on a claim I made and won. But thanks

here kitty kitty kitty, here kitty kitty idiot

as I said, hostile antagonist.

fyi cat is short for caterpillar which is a toy tractor my son has but, you can do the feline angle if you like it, despite being wildly off mark.

Then why not Guywithatonkatruck?

Or guywhossonhasacat?

>fyi cat is short for caterpillar which is a toy tractor my son has but, you can do the feline angle if you like it, despite being wildly off mark.

Adopted son, right?

sheriff greensburg?

>sheriff greensburg?

http://columbiacountysheriff.us/

**"But co-ops aren't about "housing". They are about allowing shareholders into a corporation -- with a lease attached. Apples and oranges.******

This is a quote from a previous thread.

Coops are definitely "about housing" and are regulated by all the relevant discrimination laws. An officer of a coop who intentionally and knowingly discriminates illegally has breached his duty to the shareholders by committing an illegal act and bringing the corporation into jeopardy. Maybe renters won't notice, or perhaps someone eventually will notice the pattern. If the testers come calling and/or the Division asks for your records, you will be in trouble and it will be expensive trouble. And you won't be President of the coop anymore. I say this without rancor, it's simply the truth.

>I say this without rancor, it's simply the truth.

refreshing. Certainly we couldn't expect that from Jason10006.

Any update on this?