Greenwood Park’s Sound Permit Request Not Sitting Well With Neighbors

Wednesday night’s Community Board 7 meeting with the owners of Greenwood Park, who are seeking to obtain sound permits for Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer, was a “respectful discussion,” according to CB7 District Manager Jeremy Laufer, but definitely showcased a significant number of concerns among those living in the vicinity of the 7th Avenue beer garden.

According to the 72nd Precinct, who is responsible for issuing sound permits, businesses do not need a sound permit if the sound travels less than 100 feet from their property line. A permit allows for unlimited sound amplification beyond that one hundred feet.

“Of course,” Jeremy noted, “they’re not doing this to broadcast over a thousand feet away, they’re doing it to remain in the confines of the law.”

That is probably a good move, considering some neighbors are already convinced the sound is traveling beyond the 100 foot boundary.

“There was a discussion to bring in DEP to measure decibel levels,” said Jeremy, “either across the street, or in people’s apartments, and also ways in which they could try and reduce the sound.”

Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights published a take away from a member of the South-South-Slope Yahoo Group earlier today, who said that “so far the only suggestions on the table for the owners to consider are to redirect speakers so they are facing the bar not the street…”

Another member of the neighborhood Yahoo Group mentioned the duration of the permit requests as being a cause of contention among those living around Greenwood Park.

There was a lot of unease because of the quantity of these permits that they are going to solicit. The owner of Greenwood Park expressed their intention of getting a permits for every Saturday and every Sunday for a span of 3 to 4 months. This did not sit well with the residents that were in attendance, since it turns it from being an occasional day of loud music to a permanent nuisance for the duration of the summer.

Additional concerns regarding public urination, vomiting, and general quality of life issues were also discussed.

Did the community walk away satisfied with the responses they received from Greenwood Park’s owners, though?

“I can’t say satisfied,” said Jeremy. “Certainly, I don’t think there was anybody saying that they don’t have a right to be here, but they want these issues addressed.”

“The folks from the bar were listening,” he added.” They said they want to be good neighbors, they said they want to accomodate their neighbors, so we’ll see if there are results from that.”

We have reached out to the owners of Greenwood Park for comment, but have yet to receive a response. We’ll be sure to post an update if and when we do.

Image via Greenwood Park