Some New York City elected officials are introducing new legislation that would aim to reduce the noise levels across the five boroughs while protecting small businesses.  

Leaders introduced a package of bills in a City Council hearing on Monday that are looking to tackle the noisy streets of the city, particularly for commercial establishments. 

One of the proposed bills looks to highlight citizen noise complaints, which New York City Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie says greatly impacts small businesses due to those with selfish intentions. 

“There is a noise code that the city is able to enforce if a business is playing music too loud… but we shouldn’t have these private citizen bounty hunters looking out for their own self-interests, getting rich on the backs of small business owners by exploiting a law that was intended for a completely different purpose,” said Rigie.  

According to the Department of Health, 20% of people are frequently disturbed by noise at home, but some New Yorkers say there’s now laws that can fix that problem.  

“We live in New York City, we’re in the Bronx, there’s noise everywhere,” said one resident. “Even when I’m home, I hear noise from the people upstairs, so at the end of the day to sign a bill to reduce noise is impossible.” 

The bill package also proposes more widespread noise inspections across the city.