Cities are chaotic. Cities are loud. How about if you want peace and quiet, you move somewhere where they occur naturally, like the middle of nowhere?
When you're in the city you have neighbors. Some are there decades and the walls seperating you can be paper thing as far as sound travels. Cities can be loud during the day, but at night the businesses are closed and the residents are still there.
Whether you are subletter, leasee, or owner keep in mind your neighbors can shut you down so be mindful of them as well.
Anyway I don't like bills that restrict people's free will like this. But from the comments on NYT I see some people support it because they don't want their building treated like a hotel. If airbnb what this bill taken down they better do something fast because, although the hotel industry wrote it, it is gaining support amongst residents.
Isn't the point of all legislation to restrict people's free will in one way or another? (Just a quibble; I realize this statement is not central to your comment.)
I grew up mostly in the suburbs or in smaller cities (Columbus, Lexington), and I've lived my entire adult life in cities (New York first, Philadelphia now.) In my experience, which is limited to those two cities, I've found that the base level of noise is higher in the cities regardless of time. Trash trucks, ambulances, police cars, delivery trucks, drunks walking home, cabs cruising for fares, and tons of other noisy events occur at all times of day and with a greater frequency than I experienced in the suburbs.
I overreacted to earl's post. I pictured him as the type of person who can't handle any late night noise, regardless of the day of week or the holiday associated. I pictured the kind of guy who won't sign the block party application, or who pins notes to your door or car.
I lived by people like the one I describe, and I can't stand them. Maybe I'm unique--one of my first apartments was within a 1.5 block radius of a very active fire station, four bars, a liquor store, and a 24 hour gas station. You get used to noise pretty quick, or give up sleeping in environments like that.
But, politically, I do have a point: I don't see why earl's right to be free from potentially noisy, short term neighbors should lead to legislation that will cripple an industry that hasn't had the time to find its legs. We're killing innovation by some to avoid possible annoyance of others.
That doesn't seem like a fair trade, or a likely one. I doubt anyone paying to spend a few nights in earl's neighborhood is really there to throw a kegger and urinate in the hallway.
(It might be hard to fathom, but not everybody is a college student or an unmarried 23 year old, and some people even have to get to work early on the weekends -- myself included, during crunch times).
If you can't handle treating other people living in the next room with basic courtesy, you should yourself seriously consider living in the suburbs.
I sure wouldn't want to live next to you.
However, it's still pretty rare for inconsiderate people to grow up and show some consideration just because you ask.
I've lived in cities for my entire adult life, and I find that choosing the right building and neighborhood is imperative. When I've had bad neighbors, it's rarely just one.
With a short-term tenant, there isn't a next time to prevent, and chances are good that they'll just turn the music down until the cops leave (and possibly find ways to mistreat your property in retaliation).