“Neighbors From Hell”: Worst Residents In Western New York?

We’re the City of Good Neighbors, so it doesn’t seem like something like this could ever happen in Western New York. However, there can be a bit of an anomaly, so maybe we shouldn’t say “never.” 

One household in Western New York is getting a bad rep of housing “neighbors from hell” after a post began to circulate on the Buffalo subReddit. 

Neighbors from hell
byu/AbbreviationsGold601 inBuffalo

A resident wrote:

“My neighbors downstairs play loud music at 7:30 AM. My building manager is unable to convince them at this point. Can I call the cops/ do something about it?”

After doing some digging, it looks like there is an ordinance for this exact problem. 

Here is what it says:

“The Common Council determines that the creation of excessive and unreasonable noise within the City limits of Buffalo is a detriment to the comfort, convenience, safety, health and welfare of the citizens of the City and that persons within the City are entitled to have maintained noise levels which are not a detriment to life, health, welfare and enjoyment of property. Therefore, it intends hereby to prohibit all excessive and unreasonable noise from all sources subject to its police power in order to preserve, protect and promote health, safety and welfare and the peace, quiet, comfort and repose of persons within the City.”

In other words, loud music that early in the morning seems to fall under the category, right? Because you can’t cause detriment to your fellow neighbors and disrupt their daily life with the noise levels associated with your house. 

There is a bit of discrepancy, however, since the ordinance states that you are permitted to produce outdoor sounds between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 p.m., “except Fridays and Saturdays, when the evening hours shall be 11:00 p.m.” Since the initial complaint suggests that the loud music begins at 7:30 AM, it may be difficult for the authorities to do anything about the noise, but the ordinance still states that you cannot make excessive noise, even if it is during the day. 

I think most people are more understanding than we give them credit for, but it sounds like this individual has exhausted most of their options, with the exception of calling the police. 

Fortunately, we have a lot of good neighbors in Western New York, but some of us aren’t as lucky.