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I have a friend who lives next to the top floor of one building of Lincoln Towers, West End Ave., NYC. She is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from a constant banging noise along one wall of her 28 floor apartment, that continues unabated day in, day out, and all night as well. No amount of cotton in the ears, or pink sound, drowns it out, 24/7.
I've read all the postings preceding mine, and what others have gone through to get blessed relief, and feel sad that no matter what agencies, or building management and maintenance people they complain to, no one appears to have gained much help from any of the so-called authorities...not even the EPA. My friend not only suffers from the extreme stress of such unabated sensory torture, but also from emergent breast cancer.
Everyone she has complained to, has turned down any offer of help, including the police, the EPA, the NYC Buildings , and especially the management of her building. The latter come up to the apartment, hear the noise, tell her they will (?) "document" it, opened her wall, but the noise never ceases, nor has any official or building inspector ever come to investigate her valid complaints. Will those in management say "Well, she really meant it !" if they should one day find her a suicidal death ?
Is NYC really that unfeeling place, where those who rent, mortgage out, find NO ONE to listen to them, turn deaf ears to their valid complaints, but do NOTHING to ameliorate the daily interminable noise ? Must a building collapse, and tenants perhaps die, before someone takes their complaints seriously ? Calling 311 is no help. Must someone be forced call 911 to put a stop to that interminable noise abuse ?.
I believe this website does NOTHING positive toward answering these significant questions. Your posting stories are telling, but the content does nothing to get people like my friend, the real and constructive help they sorely need to resolve their situation, or enable them to reach those in power to DO SOMETHING for them. Sad story for a City that boasts of fame and fortune and never sleeps....and conveniently forgets those who pay so dearly to live in it.
If there were solutions other than having to move don't you think they would be posted already? We are all here for solutions. Some that have already been suggested will work for some but not for others or many have tried the solutions already suggested and they have not worked.
And NYC is not the only place this happens, trust me. It happens everywhere. I am living the nightmare myself and I have spent hours reading this whole thread in hopes of a solution or something I have not tried yet but to no avail.
I happen to have a complete slumlord who does nothing unless he has a police report so he doesn't have to play the bad guy and it always comes back on the tenant who complained if someone gets evicted. All he cares about is the rent money and that the apts are filled....PERIOD.
I have lived in my apt for over 13 years now and I have had very few bad upstairs neighbors. But the ones that have been above me for a year now are the worst of the worst. They have absolutely NO respect for anyone else. I have called CPS on them twice now and the police once for them leaving their 3 year old child alone at home while they run to the store. I don't care if it is 5 mins or 30 mins. You don't leave a toddler at home alone EVER.
They let this child run wild upstairs from one end of apt to the other nonstop and it is BOOM BOOM BOOM above me all day and all night. (I work from home) I swear this child never sleeps. It shakes the pictures on the walls and I had to remove most of them because many have been knocked right off the wall. I have lost more sleep than you can imagine and I am stressed out constantly. And this is not your normal day to day living noises. Not even close. They might as well be blaring their stereo/TV at full blast with the base on as far as I am concerned because it is just as bad.
And then there is the screaming and hollering nonstop with the father hitting the child constantly and then the child screams at the top of his lungs all day and night and they never stop him. It is excruciating to have to listen to it and no one should have to listen to it. I don't blame the child, I blame the parents for not taking the time to discipline the child and/or work with or play with him to keep him stimulate and occupied.
The father is home alone with the kid most days and they stay cooped up in that apt no matter how nice it is outside. And the father just sleeps or could care less while the kid is running wild up there and screaming his lungs out. My main bath has been flooded twice now from the kid playing in the bathroom unattended or while they are sleeping.
I have also heard the child in the hallway just chattering away and I am thinking, oh, they must be leaving but come to find out the child is in hallway/foyer by himself. He could have been out the door and in the street in a heartbeat. As soon as I opened my door, there the child was turning the door knob to the entry door to building to go outside. He is 3 years old! Then the father finally comes out, finds the chld and starts screaming and hollering at the child and spanking and hitting him like there is no tomorrow and the child in turn screams and cries his lungs out. It just brings tears to my eyes it is so painful to see and hear.
They even let the child play out on the upstairs balcony by himself. I heard the child up there one day and went over to my patio and then I could hear the parents inside the apt talking and not paying a bit of attention to the child. The child should NEVER be out on an upstairs balcony by himself unattended. He proceeded to run back and forth in and out of the apartment throwing all of his toys one by one including a board and a glass ashtray until my yard was filled.I have reported ALL of this to CPS also. I don't know if CPS has done a thing because they can't follow up with you or let you know anything.
They also park wherever they damn please, they don't follow any guidelines for their garbage bins plus they don't even care where they throw their garbage. We try to report them whenever we can so the LL gets fined/ticketed so they do something about them. I sent a 2 page letter detailing all of the above to the LL but nothing has been done. I might as well be talking to a brick wall.
I have spoken to the mother twice now expressing my concerns about the constant running and screaming and hollering, etc. And all she does is tell me 'she tries'. Ugghh how frustrating! IF she was trying none of this would still be going on but it all is. Pounding on the ceiling doesn't even work anymore. All they do now is pound back.
I have lived in apts for over 20 years and I know what normal noise is and what normal walking, running water, taking showers, people walking up and down stairs is. THIS is not even close to any of that. This is total lack of respect for others and entitlement. Plain and simple.
And moving isn't as easy as some of you believe it is. It is expensive and time consuming and stressful. And sometimes you just downright can't afford to do it. The stupid part is why should I be the one to have to move? I like it here otherwise and it has been my home for 13+ years and never had a problem as bad as this one is. But all in all it is stupid because they are never going to find another tenant that will put up with these neglectful, disrespectful, obnoxious idiots.
YOU are 90% of the problem we are all talking about!
It will be real interesting when you move to a 1st floor apt and God forbid you have noisy upstairs neighbors.
Been there and done that sir. I used to be that guy that on the first floor hearing a kid and said "why can't they keep their kids quiet I mean come on!" Then I had a kid and I understand. As for you calling CPS in your other post...you just seem like an absolute peach! Too bad you don't live under me
We are all here for solutions. Some that have already been suggested will work for some but not for others or many have tried the solutions already suggested and they have not worked.
I have lived in my apt for over 13 years now and I have had very few bad upstairs neighbors. But the ones that have been above me for a year now are the worst of the worst. They have absolutely NO respect for anyone else. I have called CPS on them twice now and the police once for them leaving their 3 year old child alone at home while they run to the store. I don't care if it is 5 mins or 30 mins. You don't leave a toddler at home alone EVER.
They let this child run wild upstairs from one end of apt to the other nonstop and it is BOOM BOOM BOOM above me all day and all night. (I work from home) I swear this child never sleeps. It shakes the pictures on the walls and I had to remove most of them because many have been knocked right off the wall. I have lost more sleep than you can imagine and I am stressed out constantly. And this is not your normal day to day living noises. Not even close. They might as well be blaring their stereo/TV at full blast with the base on as far as I am concerned because it is just as bad.
And then there is the screaming and hollering nonstop with the father hitting the child constantly and then the child screams at the top of his lungs all day and night and they never stop him. It is excruciating to have to listen to it and no one should have to listen to it. I don't blame the child, I blame the parents for not taking the time to discipline the child and/or work with or play with him to keep him stimulate and occupied.
I have also heard the child in the hallway just chattering away and I am thinking, oh, they must be leaving but come to find out the child is in hallway/foyer by himself. He could have been out the door and in the street in a heartbeat. As soon as I opened my door, there the child was turning the door knob to the entry door to building to go outside. He is 3 years old! Then the father finally comes out, finds the chld and starts screaming and hollering at the child and spanking and hitting him like there is no tomorrow and the child in turn screams and cries his lungs out. It just brings tears to my eyes it is so painful to see and hear.
I have lived in apts for over 20 years and I know what normal noise is and what normal walking, running water, taking showers, people walking up and down stairs is. THIS is not even close to any of that. This is total lack of respect for others and entitlement. Plain and simple.
And moving isn't as easy as some of you believe it is. It is expensive and time consuming and stressful. And sometimes you just downright can't afford to do it. The stupid part is why should I be the one to have to move? I like it here otherwise and it has been my home for 13+ years and never had a problem as bad as this one is. But all in all it is stupid because they are never going to find another tenant that will put up with these neglectful, disrespectful, obnoxious idiots.
I trimmed this down some, for space and particular points.
What you describe is horrific and I sympathize. It is an example of how there is no control of who can become a parent. It sickens me.
I have not had that exact situation, but once when living elsewhere years ago, a family moved in above me, the father being a raging lunatic. He would come home around 11:00 PM weekdays and begin yelling and tossing furniture (it seemed), as the wife and toddler were screaming - all night. It was insane..and I needed sleep to go to work. On the weekend, it was the same way all day. I recall one Saturday evening feeling SO crazed, I had to get out of there, due to the continual racket, and left to drive around in the rain...screaming. It helped to have a release, but those who know me, knew I would never go out driving during a rainstorm..or be screaming, but that was how unbearable it became. I almost did not care if something happened to me, and I had my two kitties at home... but felt completely nuts. (I have not reacted to anything that way, before or since in my life).
There was only an owner who did not live on the premises, and was an ass, asking me why I had called the police. The foreigners upstairs would have a relative park in my carport space, finding out as I arrived home. When I told this owner, he said, "anyone else would just park on the street". Unreal. So, I luckily found a cute place down the street and was able to begin moving stuff over, prior to telling him I was leaving. I recall feeling so empowered, doing so. (I had only lived there a short time and found out from another that the family moved out shortly after I had!)
On to today. Like yourself, I have lived in one place for several years, downstairs. It was always fine, until some upstairs tenants (now three in recent years) have been awful, with the slammimg, banging, thuds, stomping - some worse than others. I know it is due to a personality, since many neighbors have not been like this at all. Otherwise, the building is quiet and manager is good, but they don't want to be bothered with this stuff.
As you say, the "advice" has not been helpful, when it either does not apply or doesn't work and why should the quiet, considerate tenant be the one to make accommodations? Why this common problem continues is ridiculous and something needs to be done, because clearly, some should never be allowed to live in joined housing, causing problems for the neighbors besides management / owners.
Been there and done that sir. I used to be that guy that on the first floor hearing a kid and said "why can't they keep their kids quiet I mean come on!" Then I had a kid and I understand. As for you calling CPS in your other post...you just seem like an absolute peach! Too bad you don't live under me
Oh, so what you are telling me is that I MUST BE A PEACH for calling CPS on parents who neglect their 3 year old child by leaving him ALONE whenever they feel the need to leave the premises in their vehicle?
And who let their child play unsupervised on an upper balcony who could easily crawl over and fall off?
And parents who just don't care and sleep is more important to them instead of watching their child who is playing in the bathroom for hours and floods my bathroom multiple times?
Or for parents who allow this child to be up all hours of the day and through the night with no proper sleep just to suit their own needs and schedules?
Or parents who decide they have no patience NOR time for a child and just decide that beating him and screaming and hollering at him nonstop is more convenient than working, playing and stimulating this child or getting him on a better schedule for sleeping and playtime, etc?
And you mean the parents who BLAME their child for being the way he is and doing what he does instead of taking some responsibility and working with their child?
And YOU have the audacity to say that I am a peach for calling CPS? Only someone who deals with their own child the same way these parents do would say something so ignorant. For YOUR information I seem to care more about this child than they do! I feel sorry for this child. It is NOT the child's fault whatsoever. It is the NEGLECTFUL parents who could really give a crap about their own child. And parents who are too selfish and self-entitled to be bothered with an 'unruly brat' as they refer to him as. And that is beyond sad.
So yes, you are damn right I will call CPS on them because frankly I don't care to find or hear that this child has died from their neglect by jumping over the upper balcony or gotten out of the building by himself and hit by a car or wandered off and taken by some predator. Or that has drowned in the bath tub or ends up being beaten to a pulp by his own parents or starts the building on fire.
I believe children should be able to RUN and PLAY like they want. I happen to LOVE all children. Just NOT over my head please. And WHY for the sake of God do parents who have young children or older children that they can't control even rent upstairs apartments is beyond me. WHY make others go through this and put them in uncomfortable stressful situations like this? WHY?
You act like children should be allowed to do whatever they want because they are 'protected' by society and they can do no wrong or that parents can raise their children anyway they choose no matter how neglectful and abusive they are.
If this is what you believe by calling me a peach for contacting CPS or the police on blatant neglectful and abusive parents then I feel sorry for any children that you spawn. God help us all.
I live in an apartment, just moved in recently. My upstairs neighbor walks loudly around, like she stomps her feet hard on the floor everywhere she walks. She is a large woman but I feel it has nothing to do with it as many other large people walk just fine.
The stomping is so loud that is shakes glasses on the table.
Plus the floor squeaks, very loudly. I have lived in many apartments and this is the first one where it squeaks so loudly, when the upstairs neighbor walks around, the combination stomping and squeaking is driving me crazy.
I am only gett about 4 hours of sleep per day because of this, she gets up at 6:30am to start here day and then likes to go out at night and come back late or walk around constantly at night.
Seriously, she will walk around for 45 minutes straight without stopping, to and from the kitchen and bedroom, the apartment is only 700 square feet.
I tlaked to the apartment manager once, he said he will look into it. I went back today and he would not talk to me but had the secretary talk to me. She said there is nothing they can really do?
They said they could move us, but I am not the one at fault here so I am not moving unless they pay a company to move my stuff for me. They also said there is no way to fox the squaeky floor as well.
The regional manager will be in tomorrow so I am going to speak with her.
The floor is carpet over concrete, I do not see how it is squeaking, but it does. Plus the whole place shakes when the neighbor walks around and when she walks up and down the flight of stairs.
Does anyone else know what I can legally do? This is the first time I have ever had a problem like this. I have lived in many apartments and never had this problem nor an attitude from the apartment managers like here.
They share a apartment wih 2 more
Families the switch every week but all of them are
Loud...
Ironically, this is the most expensive apartment I have lived in but yet seems to have the most problems.
Any advice would be appreciated, I am just tired of being tired, it is so loud that I can't sleep, think or anything and it seems the apartment managers could care less.
I'm currently going through this they laugh when i told them they were loud
The guy abuse his girlfriend they constantly fight..but wait
I love how people in this thread say things like "They let their kid run around upstairs" as if a 2 and a half year old knows any other way to move around. You were a child once that ran around enjoying yourself, long before you became a grouchy sleep deprived tenant. Children are absolutely protected in the state I live in and you can't be in trouble for having your child live his life. As I stated earlier I have been downstairs for many years and can understand the sounds you hear from a child moving around...I used to get angry as well. I once lived under a group of 3 large men that worked construction and lived in a 1 bedroom apartment. They wore their boots in the house and listened to tejano at all hours.
That being said don't think for a second that a kid moving around an apartment is something that should be punished by a parent or that it is evidence of bad parenting. The situation you are in Corn-fused is understandable to an extent although I have to admit I think you might be exaggerating a little. That is alot of information to have gathered by just living under someone. The flooding your apartment is just insane and I would be livid at my neighbors for that.
Moral of the story there are plenty of upstairs apartments in the world and plenty of downstairs apartments it just depends on who you want to be...The a-hole upstairs neighbor who has people hating on them for moving around their apartment in the same manner as the person on the 1st floor, or the downstairs neighbor who has to bear witness to the never ending noise.
I don't exaggerate and you have absolutely no right assuming that I do. FYI - I don't have room nor the time to write a book here that would explain 'how' I got the information I did but I do work from home so I do know a lot of what is going on on a daily basis. My apartment is also right near the front entry door and there is not much that I can not hear because of the lack of any sound proofing. Enough said about that part and I did not get into detail about it because it did not have that much to do with the main topic of this thread which is loud upstairs neighbors.
No one said children were not protected. We get that! And no one said a child should be scolded or disciplined for doing what kids do. The bottom line question is, why do people with children that do want to run all day and stomp on the floor and play with hard rubber bouncing balls, rent upstairs apartments IF they want to allow their children to do the things that 'children do'. That is the part that does not make any sense to many of us.
We don't care that children act as children and they should be able to but why should we have to live with it or around it if it is going on at all hours of the day and night? And YES it does go on all hours. Even at 2, 3, 4 am which disrupts my sleep and overall sanity and also causes a lot of nonstop stress and anxiety. It would do that to anyone after it goes on for months!
IF someone with young children rents an upstairs apartment that means that everyone around them HAS to put up with whatever they want to do no matter how loud and disruptive it is? That is going a bit too far. There is absolutely NO excuse for people with kids to get away with everything they damn please. What gives them the right to not use common sense and have respect for others and be allowed to be as disruptive as they please without consequences?
If they want to be as loud and disruptive as they want then just don't rent a damn upstairs apt! That is all!
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The foreigners upstairs would have a relative park in my carport space, finding out as I arrived home. When I told this owner, he said, "anyone else would just park on the street". Unreal. So, I luckily found a cute place down the street and was able to begin moving stuff over, prior to telling him I was leaving. I recall feeling so empowered, doing so. (I had only lived there a short time and found out from another that the family moved out shortly after I had!)
