Sound intrusion in our lives may not be spoken of in the same way we talk about traffic. We don’t leave the zip code if we wish to revel in our quietude, but when we’re bombarded by noise through the night what can we do?
I’d like to note for the record that we love our neighbors! You’re out for a quiet night in your favorite restaurant and can’t even hear the crunch of your biscotti because the music is too loud. When the incessant beat of a tom-tom makes you feel as if you’re trapped in some musical hell, you can simply stand up, throw your napkin on the table and scream, “Hey, why does my dinner conversation need to be shouted from 2 feet away?”
When did background music become the norm? Sit down for some loving conversation on a significant date and all of a sudden the 20 something manager pops his favorite grunge band into the sound system. These are the times we live in. What happens when you can’t walk away and how much noise will be mitigated by our proliferation of trees?
If you live in the extreme western portion of beautifully tree shaded Miami springs, you may not have heard the constant thump of drums and deep resonance of the bass in the sound which, in the eastern part of town has been breaching our eardrums until 5AM. This is happening during the Art Basel/Miami Beach cluster-thingy. We heard a report of the loud music from neighbors as far from Hialeah as the 600 block of Plover. With a constant westerly wind aiding the sound, they couldn’t sleep for the constant bass beat.
Our municipal neighbor to the immediate north has instituted the “Factory Town Entertainment Sub-District Pilot Program.” which lately during an Art Basel associated satellite fair, has caused the residents of the eastern half of Miami springs to cover their ears for most of the night. The Hialeah ordinance 2019-029 contains a condition requiring development order applicants, successors or assigns to provide a notice to buyers, lessee and renters of multifamily residential units (In the immediate area) informing them that the subject property is located near entertainment uses that “could create light and noise.” They’re warning us of more noise! (It’s a 6-month try-out.)
At about 11PM when most people think about sleepy time, the thump was back.
It started in the early evening for just a short time as a demonstration of how giant speakers hold up when too much sound is pushed through them. It seemed to have worked. We thought it was some kind of test. We were wrong! Later that evening we heard the constant thump, thump, thump of what could have been a record skipping over and over with no-one close by to adjust the stylus. This is today’s ‘music’?? I guess you can dance to it while holding your ears. Was it a giant hearing test?
At 11:30 we decided to call the police and register a noise complaint. I was told there were 30 calls before me. “I said, I’m caller number 31, what do I win, in a bid to get a laugh, but there was a serious issue here.” I wanted her to say, “We’ll get over there and get them to turn it down” but she said it was coming from Hialeah. Nothing they could do right now. Is there something everyone could do? YES!! Call the Mayor of Hialeah, Steve Bovo, and renounce the noise. Call the Mayor’s office at 305 883-5800 and ask them to either turn the speakers around or bring them to the edge of the Urban Development Boundary and stack them facing the Everglades. Maybe the snakes will move further away. We can’t!
This has to be “fucking” ( jodedera), like the famous Cuban comedian Alveres Guedes used to say…haha
This incident is but another example of elected officials placing special interest $ above that of the citizens; however, we should be used to that by now.