Lakeview Avenue resident Paul Leone addresses Jamestown City Council (June 17, 2024)
Residents of Lakeview Avenue are asking the city to create more stringent policies for noise ordinance violations.
Several residents spoke at Jamestown City Council‘s work session Monday night saying the noise issues on the street have become a quality of life concern.
One longtime resident, Paul Leone, said he’s made repeated complaints to the city about noise from motorcycles and cars that play music loudly, “It will come at all hours of the day or night, too. In my perception, there are certain periods of the week where it’s worse and it’s particularly bad in the dead of the night. And that may, or may not, be a motorcycle but often times is loud noise coming from the radio.”
Leone suggested the city place signs on the street saying that the noise ordinance is enforced with offenders being ticketed.
Police Chief Tim Jackson said signage would not deter those who violate the noise ordinance.
Public Safety Committee Chair Jeff Russell suggested that those who are ticketed for noise three times have their vehicle towed, “Habitual offenders, I’d like to see their vehicles towed. Obviously, we’d have to amend 198.2 and put new language in there, there would have to be a change of law, would have to go through corporation counsel. Because, I agree with the (Police) Chief.. the signage.. that looks great but people don’t understand things until it comes out of their pocketbook and their vehicle is towed away.”
Russell added that JPD’s Nuisance Officer, Zach Sandberg, also should be contacted when there are issues in the neighborhood.
He said since May 2023 to June 10, 2024, Officer Sandberg has written a number of tickets including:
– 31 tickets for loud music from a residence
– 43 tickets for loud music from a vehicle
– 68 tickets for loud exhaust
– and 7 tickets were given for fireworks
Resident John O’Hagan, who lives at 416 Lakeview Avenue, raised concerns about a rental property next door that has been raided several times by the SWAT team, “It’s the same landlord. I happen to know who he is and he happens to own several properties and I know the properties that he owns. Inevitably, there’s broken windows, there’s trouble where they are, there’s trouble next to my house. I’m blaming a lot of this on lack of dealing with the landlords.”
Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said her department is working on the Rental Inspection Ordinance with plans to bring it before City Council in July for final review and approval.
The ordinance would require a property inspection within 60 days of the rental being acquired with a fee of $50 per unit. A certificate of occupancy would be issued upon inspection clearance.
Surdyk said New York State will be issuing its own Rental Inspection requirements that will be focused on lead. She added a recently passed update to the City’s nuisance ordinance does make it possible to condemn a residence if it has had three or more arrests in a 24 month period going back to March 2024.
There is some on are street who seem to think we all need to here the music from there car…all day&night…when u say something to them ..they turn it up louder ….I made reports up town no one shows up…..and the Drugs ….