Noise Code Problematic

As our friends at Gotham Gazette point out, the recently passed noise code poses problems for the city's night clubs. The major problem arises because of the indoor smoking ban that forces patrons out onto the street where their conversations carry in the night air. In addition, the constant opening and closing of the front door during egress and ingress raises the decibel levels in the surrounding neighborhood.

One of the things that the NYNA will be suggesting at the fall safety summit is that the city figure out a way to give the clubs some means to provide a restricted indoor smoking area for their customers. The constant street crowding, often with a preponderance of young ladies in the mix, also attracts young men-typically underage-who congregate along with the women.

This situation also highlights the need that NYNA has been outlining for the right to hire off-duty NYPD to patrol the streets and help control for potential trouble. This request has been turned down by the police brass.