Noisy Upstairs Neighbors...any advice? (moved from NYC forum) (apartment complex, lease, evictions)

[Soundbounder]

A friend of mine has an upstairs neighbor who is really noisy all hours of the day.
This is not the classic loud music and late night partying noise. Instead he keeps strange hours, moves furniture around at 3AM, bangs and hammers on things late at night, paces between the bedroom and kitchen in boots ( I counted 30+ trips one night in a 2 1/2 hour period) etc.
Moving isn't really a realistic option right now. Her lease runs through next June, and she just recently went through cancer treatment. She has spoken to the landlord, but he just seems to pay lip service to the issue. As long as both parties are paying rent, I don't think he cares.
Talking to the neighbor hasn't worked either. She tried that and the guy yelled at her, and said he doesn't give a *#&#!. I went up there last week and the guy told me to never knock on his door again. I might be jumping to conclusions but he seems like a tweaker.

Any advice?

[pitt_transplant]

That seems very tweaker to me or just plain old manic. Stay away (both can be violent) and call the cops the next time the hammer thing starts. You (her and her LL) need that third party witness to take the first step in evictions. Maybe they will take a cop more seriously.

[Faworki1947]

night time quiet hours run ( Usually ) from 10 pm to 7 am .. call the cops when he is doing the crazy stuff at night .. walking heavy isnt a crime its part of living BUT hammering and moving stuff that creates alot of noise is a no no and the cops will deal with it better than anyone else .. YOU have the right to peaceful enjoyment of the apt .. his rights end wheres your begin .. and night time is quiet time ..

[SoHoVe]

This does sound like a tweaker...many of them get high and take things apart then put them back together (which could explain the banging at odd hours). If he is indeed a tweaker be careful as many of them are very paranoid. Sorry, I don't have a solution, hopefully someone will come along who does.
I do agree with calling the cops...many of these people will move on to another building if they feel the police may be onto their activities. I would also let the cops know you suspect drug activity.

[kodaka]

Wow I hadn't even heard the term tweaker before. Learned something new today.

With his response to the last time she knocked on his door, I would call the police in the future and let them handle it. Not for just pacing but if he's hammering or making a lot of noise.

Are there any clauses in the lease or building policies about floor coverings? My building's policy is at least 50% of the floor must be covered in area rugs or furniture. It could be grounds for a complaint. The landlord may be more willing to help if they knew this rule wasn't being followed.

I hope my neighbors don't think of me as a tweaker. Unemployment has given me insomnia. I try not to do too much walking around though, I'm usually just sitting here typing away at the computer. I definitely am not hammering or doing loud chores.

[Basiliximab]

Originally Posted by kodaka

I hope my neighbors don't think of me as a tweaker.

I think the term implies someone who does meth as well as exhibiting compulsive behavior; that's what I got from looking it up briefly on the internet. The term seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember what it meant.

[Las Vegas Mommy]

Sadly, I dont see how the police may be able to assist you with the hammering noise in the middle of the night. Living in an apartment complex come with a wide variety of issues, benefits and pitfalls. When you choose to live in a place where there are multiple residents, there are few luxuries
that are sacrificed. If she is a quiet person she may benefit from being on the upstairs level as opposed to being under a neighbor that walks on her head. Or chose to move a house or a single level complex where that will never be an issue. Not everyone has the same noise level tolerance and it can become quite impossible to enforce such strict restrictions unless they are blazing their music or they are having lots of people making short trips to his apt all night long. Be greatful you dont have a family with 3 little children stepping on your head :-)

[nightcrawler]

By the time the police get there the noise will probably be over.
I called the police one time because a tennant was fighting and the babbies were screamming, the police rang my bell 3 hours later.
Both girls were gone and so were the children.

I told the police, why bother now, one of the could have been dead.....
ugh !!