Police: Noise Complaints
Rise 50 Percent In City
By JASON BIRKELBACH • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA – Two months into the colleges’ fall semester, calls to the police complaining of noisy parties and rowdy neighbors have increased 50 percent from last year, Oneonta Police Lt. Doug Brenner told Oneonta Common Council this evening.
The number of complaints filed this fall jumped from 107 in the same period 2015 to 154 this fall. Brenner said he issued 27 tickets to landlords throughout the whole 2015-16 college year, but this semester alone he has written 19.
“Our greatest fear in any of this is that something bad happens at these parties and something bad happens with a lot of people packed in,” Brenner said.
The amount of complaints and tickets had decreased from 2014 to 2015 when Brenner began writing the property owners letters to inform them of the tenants’ actions. The letters included information directly from the official police report.
“I hope that when I send the homeowner a letter with a narrative that says, ‘There are 100 people in your house, making a lot of noise, and possibly damaging property’ that they don’t want their property damaged and they’re going to take some sort of action,” he said.
The police also send letters to the college informing them of the charges.
Mayor Gary Herzig urged Council members to ask community members to communicate with neighbors, an approach that proved effective on his own street, he said.
While Council member David Rissberger, Ward 3, agreed with Herzig on the need for action, he said neighbors should work through the police. “I think you take an awful chance with potentially drunk students to ask them to be quiet,” he cautioned.
Herzig said he plans to discuss the issue with SUNY Oneonta President Nancy Kleniewski.
Council Member Rissberger is right on this. Under the best of circumstances, it is risky approaching “potentially drunk” people (college students or others) late at night and asking them to behave in a civil manner. In many cases, these situations occur after dark and the neighbors who have complaints have already gone to bed. Disturbances occurring in these circumstances should be left to OPD to handle. Discussions with neighbors are a great idea, but they need to occur well before incidents occur.
There is a certain street cleaning truck that drives down take street in Cooperstown and it commences at 5 am.
This noise is extremely disturbing and very loud. Why is this being done? What can I do to stop this?
Sincerely,
Sarah Hand