November 1, 2007
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
Mo Hannah
518-210-2487
[email protected]
Joe Lombardo
518-281-1968
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Madison: Colonie, New York has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for allowing excessive noise from bars, loud motorcycle pipes, traffic, lawn mowers, construction sites, leaf blowers, and boom cars. All of this noise is on top of the noise generated by commercial airplanes taking off and landing at nearby Albany International Airport.
Perhaps the most egregious source of noise in Colonie is the Roman Pub, a bar which adjoins a quiet neighborhood near the Latham Circle Mall. The bar is an ongoing source of complaints about loud music, fights, and petty crimes. According to police records, there have been dozens of police calls for late-night noise, assaults, and drug possession. In August, the New York State Liquor Authority fined the Roman Pub $2500.
The Colonie Town police and neighbors have repeatedly asked the bar’s manager and employees to close the bar’s doors at night, to not disturb the sleep of neighborhood residents. Except for brief periods after a police visit, these requests have been ignored. The bar–and its doors–remain open until the early hours of the morning. This flagrant disregard of the public welfare is harming Colonie’s quality of life and property values.
Mo Hannah, a neighborhood resident, states that “the police and neighbors have made numerous requests to the Colonie Town Board and town supervisors about the bar, requesting a strong noise ordinance. The town’s current noise ordinance is virtually useless. So far, Colonie town board members have failed to act.”
Hannah continued, “No one–whether a business or a private citizen–can be allowed to create a public health hazard. That’s why we have drunk driving laws, drug laws, and pollution control laws. Bars that allow drunken patrons to disturb surrounding neighborhoods late at night with loud fights, partying, and blaring music are a threat to public health and safety.”
Another Colonie resident, Joe Lambardo, stated, “Living near the Roman Pub means that you are sleepy at work and your children are sleepy at school. The shouts of their drunken customers and the loud music are a consistent problem in our neighborhood every day, all day long. The Roman Pub refuses to even close their door to make it more palatable, and the town government seems inclined to do nothing about it.”
In response to these problems, local citizens have created a new organization, “Noise Free Colonie,” which is an affiliate of Noise Free America. Town of Colonie residents interested in working with Noise Free Colonie to petition the Town Board for an effective noise ordinance are encouraged to contact the group at [email protected].
Noise Free America is a national citizens organization opposed to noise pollution. Its web site is www.noisefree.org. Previous “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include Echo Manufacturing and Pioneer Electronics.