May 1, 2012
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
William Pitt
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Chapel Hill: Phoenix, Arizona has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for tolerating constant thumping, rumbling, and pounding from boom cars and constant roaring and screaming from outrageously loud motorcycles. In Phoenix, the noise assault continues around the clock.
In June, 2009, William Pitt sold his townhouse in Montana and moved to a practically new home in Phoenix. He was excited to be able to move into the new neighborhood, which he thought was peaceful. In reality, it turned out to be his worst nightmare.
According to Pitt, “In the beginning, when I would hear the thumping and pounding of a passing boom car, I would just try to ignore it and tell myself that it would pass, that it was only an isolated event from time to time, and that I could live with it.” After a couple of months, however, it was becoming apparent to Mr. Pitt that this malicious noise assault was a lot more frequent than he was willing to admit: “The noise assault came not only from boom cars but from loud roaring, screaming cars, trucks and motorcycle pipes as well. It was now becoming clear that this noise assault was pretty much around the clock and that it was starting to take its toll on my health and my feeling of well-being in my own home. I was being woken up violently in the middle of the night on a regular basis. I could not relax in my own home.”
Pitt was faced with the reality that he was financially tied down to living in a home that he could not enjoy. He states, “Once I got past the denial stage, I contacted my neighborhood watch and the homeowners association. I went to some meetings to present the issue and offer to organize a group to take action, only to find that everyone I was talking to was in the same denial as I used to be in. My neighbors were completely unwilling to acknowledge the problem.” Pitt then took his concerns to the police, to no avail: “I was told that their hands were tied because the noise ordinance didn’t allow them to act on my complaints. Then I tried to contact my city councilman, Michael Nowakowski, only to be met with the same denial and total lack of concern.”
Pitt then made the heart-wrenching decision “to put the house up for sale and find a way to hopefully find a better neighborhood. I found a home in an adult community. While the noise situation is better, it is far from ideal. Every day the boom cars drive by with their noise assault. There are retirees in my neighborhood with their noisy Harleys. Every day the roaring cars and motorcycles can be heard racing near my home.”
Once again, Pitt has been forced to ask for help from public officials, who, once again, have let him down: “I have contacted my town councilman, Craig Heustis, and the mayor, Jackie Meck. All I got was doubletalk and no action. I have contacted my state officials, John Nelson, Steve Montenegro, and Jerry Weiers. I have received no responses. I have made numerous attempts to alert the local media of the problem, also without acknowledgement.”
All of this malicious noise has had severe physical consequences for Pitt, including “sleep loss, depression, feelings of hopelessness, loss of interest in life, headaches, anger, lack of energy, and loss of cognitive function and mental focus.”
Pitt notes that “our government and our culture are broken. The depravity that our country has fallen into has stolen what little hard-earned financial independence that I may have had, and is well on the way to stealing my health and my life. All this noise is evidence of extreme moral decay. The Constitution is supposed to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and promote the general welfare. None of these things are possible with constant, lawless noise.”
Pitt concludes: “The great Irish statesman Edmund Burke once said, ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ I am asking everyone who values the survival of the United States: How long are we going to do nothing about the constant assault of noise?”
Noise Free America’s director, Ted Rueter, commented that “the noise situation in Phoenix mirrors what is happening all over the country. The noisemakers blast away, damaging the health and quality of life of innocent victims. And when a citizen does complain, the police and elected officials often turn a deaf ear. It is time for the police and elected officials to respond to the desire of American citizens for peace and quiet.”
Noise Free America is a national citizens organization opposed to noise pollution. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include South Lake Tahoe, California and Deming, New Mexico.