August 1, 2009
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
John Swigonski
716-694-0581
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Albany: North Tonawanda, New York has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for allowing motorcycle morons to rev their engines and destroy the peace and quiet. All the while, local law enforcement do virtually nothing.
North Tonawanda, a community of 32,000 in the western portion of New York State, is midway between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. North Tonawanda’s economy is based on waterfront development, tourism, and entertainment. “Tonawanda” (in the Seneca tongue) means “swift running water.”
However, this seeming serenity is regularly disrupted by motorcycle morons who rig their bikes with extremely loud exhausts. John Swigonski, a long-term resident of North Tonawanda, comments, “I’ve lost lots of sleep because of these motorcycle goons. Because of the lack of police enforcement, the situation has gotten worse every year. It’s bad enough during the day, but at night, sounds carry much more. The worst is when one of the biker bars closes and all you hear for the next half-hour are motorcycles. The nearest such joint is at least two miles from my house; you can hear them for miles. Just once, I’d like to hear the sound of a police siren when one of these cretins creates a disturbance late at night.”
John Swigonski noted that “as a homeowner, I am entitled to ‘a bundle of legal rights.’ These include the right to possession and the right to enjoyment of one’s property. These noisy cretins definitely diminish my enjoyment of my own property. They cause stress, aggravation, and sleep deprivation. And here in western New York, where the economy is always in recession, we certainly don’t need additional stress or any more reasons to feel down. These leather vest-wearing heathen obviously do not possess the cranial capacity to comprehend how their actions affect other people. They seem to enjoy making noise.”
Mr. Swigonski also observed that his pleas for peace and quiet have gone unheeded: “I have written to our mayor and the police chief. I suggested that the police inspect motorcycles that are parked to verify that the exhaust has not been altered. Neither has responded to my repeated requests. I know that many, many people feel the same way I do. It is time that public servants start serving the public and protect our right to peace and quiet!”
Noise Free America’s director, Ted Rueter, stated that “North Tonawanda needs to crack down on noisy motorcycles. North Tonawanda should follow the lead of Denver,
Anaheim, and Boston, which require that motorcycles have their original, quiet exhausts. There is no excuse for allowing motorcyclists to blast away.”
Noise Free America is a national 501c3 citizens organization devoted to opposing noise pollution. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include New York City motorcycle clubs and Colonie, New York.