Descrizione
New York is drenched in unnecessary honking, but in Washington Heights the problem is simply unbearable. Since the neighborhood is served by very few yellow cabs, hundreds of gypsy cabs ply the streets and honk whenever they see someone standing on the sidewalk to get their attention. This is a poor business practice and a non-stop, round-the-clock source of noise that seems to penetrate into every apartment in the neighborhood.
Aside from gypsy cabs, many motorists in the neighborhood are in the habit of pulling up outside someone's apartment and using their car horn as a doorbell. This is gratuitous and very unfair. There is no need to announce your arrival to every single person on the street and bludgeon their ears with your car horn. Traffic citations should be issued for this practice.
The third vector of the honking plague is simply motorist anger, aggression, and impatience. Hesitating for more than a nanosecond at a green light, attempting to change lanes, double parking for 2 seconds to drop someone off, etc., etc., are all occasion for you, and everyone within earshot, to endure a vicious aural assault. This of course happens throughout the city, but in a honking hotspot like Washington Heights, it really adds insult to injury.
Excessive noise is more than a nuisance, particularly when it drifts in through windows and walls into your home. It has been associated with increased blood pressure, difficulty focusing on and completing tasks, and a sense of hopelessness. To say nothing of its effect on sleep. According to the NY Times, the city has anti honking ordinance, but it is not enforced:
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/06/science/research-on-noise-disappears-in-the-din.html?pagewanted=1
In tonier neighborhoods, there are signs warning of fines for unlawful honking. I'm not implying that these signs are actually observed, but at least they have some sort of calming effect in nice neighborhoods. But in poor areas like Washington Heights, already under stress from a host of other social problems, unmitigated honking has reached an absolutely intolerable level.
Cynics will scoff at any serious effort to curb honking in NY City. Others will even embrace honking as an indelible part of NY's distinctive urban fabric. I disagree. I think honking can and should be muzzled. I consider it a public health issue, not merely a quality of life issue. If you agree that a campaign should be waged against honking, vote for this issue on SCF.
Speaking more generally, if NY City wants to take itself seriously as a pedestrian and transit-oriented town, instead of continuing to kowtow to the automobile, then motorists need to know that if they're driving through the city they need to treat it with respect (this also applies to the reckless speeding and maneuvering that is pandemic in NYC).
2 Commentos
Leslie E. Espaillat (Ospite)
I agree! This morning I woke up and said enough is enough. This noise is affecting my well-being. I have been in this neighborhood WH for 20 years.. Most of these drivers are clueless, honking their cars. Please, I know. I have been to Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and I suppose other countries have this honking practice as a norm, but there should be warning honking signs. Warning notices should be sent out to all Livery car dispatching sites that this will not be tolerated and they will pay a hefty fine.
Hello, the elderly, the babies and children, the retirees, the work-at-home, and the rest of us who go to work at different hours of the day are subjected to this non-stop noise. They stand by the fire hydrants on !81st Cabrini and wait until the night crowd leaves the bar and restaurants, and like lunatics start honking at @2:30 AM, and at 5:30 AM it is non-stop throughout day. PLEASE STOP IT!
Excuse my ignorance, please explain SCF to me. We truly must stop this. We are in the 21st century and you are telling me that the Livery car service can't t find a quiet solution to attract fares without the honking. Well, I have a few ideas. Get a Green neon flag to place on your car that you are available, and do a marketing blitz that this is the new way to get a livery car or simply call one.
I am tired, and it is definitely time to take action that will correct this unbearable problem. I will do my part and go out and take pictures of car licenses who are honking.
Leslie Esperanza Espaillat
Mike (Ospite)
I agree! The gypsy cabs are obnoxious with the non stop honking for different reasons.. They honk at anybody the see standing alone to see if that person needs a ride. I guess they don't know how to use their mouth to ask!! Heaven forbid they get held up by a school bus, garbage truck or even somebody trying to park on a narrow street; it seems their tolerance level is that of a 2 year old and off goes the horn blaring. That is especially irritating at six in the morning.
It's also lots of fun to watch them as they make illegal u turns on 181 street in the middle of traffic because they don't want to go around the block.. Or double park right near a corner so that traffic gets held up as the chew the fat with their fellow drivers who is parked at the curb.
It seems to me that the NYPD is not paying enough attention to these guys and could actually use this as a revenue source by issuing tickets for these crimes against the public.