The Yonkers City Council has voted to make Yonkers radically noisier.   They raised daytime noise levels to 85 decibels - loud enough to cause hearing damage - and nighttime levels to 65 decibels, far exceeding health guidelines.

Unbelievably, the  council recently doubled down on high noise limits. With no public notice, the council voted in June, 4-2, to affirm their discredited noise policy. To make matters worse, the City for months ignored FOIL requests and appeals. And when they finally released a handful of documents, under threat of litigation,  they revealed that the noise ordinance was initiated by an ethically challenged city council member to reward a major campaign donor.

We, your constituents, demand the Council reverse its reckless votes to make the city noisier. It would be a first step toward a more transparent, accountable government.

In 2023, without meaningful public hearings or input from health or public policy experts, the Council made daytime noise limits EIGHT TIMES louder,  while nighttime limits DOUBLED. This puts Yonkers drastically out of step with other cities, which are working to reduce noise pollution, not increase it. 

We thank Council Members Merante and Breen who voted against the ordinance.  We thank Council Member Pineda Isaac who has shown the courage to reconsider her vote and also thank Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, who has also come out publicly for a new look at the ordinance. 

The health impact of noise is well-documented. Excessive noise:

• Damages hearing and increases risk of heart disease
• Impairs children's learning and cognitive development
• Disrupts sleep and mental health
• Hits hardest in our most vulnerable communities

The Council is capable of better decision making.  In 2005, when the previous noise ordinance was instituted, the Council worked with leading noise experts to create well thought out noise policies (see here for more).

In 2023, a single Council Member, to reward a large donor, quietly pushed through the code changes, using deceptive arguments to win the votes of other Council Members who were not well prepared. And now the same Council Members refuse to face the facts and correct their mistake.

We call on the Council to:

1. Immediately suspend the new ordinance
2. Hold public hearings with expert testimony
3. Develop a comprehensive noise control policy that protects public health
4. Return to science-based noise limits that align with regional standards

For more information and research on urban noise impacts, visit www.quieteryonkers.org 

The shocking June 25 affirmation of the pro noise policy came after it emerged that serious procedural irregularities and unauthorized changes to the city code took place in 2023.  So instead of rolling back the noise code to the thoughtful pre-2023 level, the  council scrambled to  affirm their commitment to one of the least restrictive noise policies in America, a policy that was developed with no research and that has never been subject to meaningful public discussion.

Perhaps the council members,the mayor and the city clerk are embarrassed to acknowledge this one glaring blooper: they probably never read the ordinance they voted for or signed.

For more perspective on this series of bungled Council votes, we recommend this Aug. 5 piece by Phil Zisman in the Yonkers Ledger.