Longtime New Yorkers aren’t going to ignore concerns about late-night partying.
About 20 Brooklyn and Queens residents gathered at Town Hall on Wednesday to air their frustrations over noise and congestion caused by loud music performances. Under K Bridge Park — A new outdoor venue beneath the Kosciuszko Bridge.
“They go on here until 2 or 3 in the morning and it’s so loud,” said Rich, 46, a Greenpoint resident and high school teacher who lives a block away on Apollo Avenue. “Even with the windows closed and the TV on, you can still hear it.”
“I emailed them asking why they would allow this and they replied, ‘We applied for the appropriate permits.'”
Rich said his wife’s family has lived in Greenpoint for more than 100 years, but they’re considering moving because of their new neighbors.
“The house I grew up in, the house that we own, was purchased by my great-great-grandmother in 1911,” his wife, Trish, 46, told The Post about the home they share with their 2-year-old son and his mother, Jin, 77.
“My grandmother was born in what is now our kitchen,” she added. “It’s become so uncomfortable here that we’re thinking about moving.”
Once an abandoned park between the two boroughs, the park is now run by the nonprofit North Brooklyn Parks Alliance and partially funded by the city. Since it opened in 2021, it has hosted events with a capacity of 8,000 people, including the outdoor music festival “Ladyland” in June, which featured Madonna and others.
Other highlights include the “Summer of Love” festival series, spearheaded by Bushwick nightclub House of Yes.
According to park officials, more than 64,000 people will attend Under the K Bridge Park events in 2023 alone, with “even larger events planned for the fall.”
Officials said the large-scale event is “vital” for the park’s revenue, but it has angered nearby residents, some of whom report hearing loud noise from the concert from inside their apartments, some as far away as Long Island City and Maspeth.
“It’s not just the music, but the hundreds, maybe thousands, of people that were there that were amazing,” said Matt, 47, who lives on the same street as Rich and teaches at the same high school.
“There’s no public transportation at night so everyone calls an Uber or a Lyft … and all you hear all night is honking, honking, honking.”
Lucy, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Greenpoint for more than 30 years, told The Post she heard the incident from a few blocks away from her Nassau Avenue home.
“My question is, why are they allowed here until 4 a.m. when other places have to close by 10 p.m.?” she told the City Hall crowd.
Katie Denney Horowitz, executive director of the North Brooklyn Parks League, told The Post that most Under the K events end by 10 p.m. and never before 4 a.m.
“If neighbors hear music at 4 a.m., it is definitely not coming from an event at Under the K Bridge Park,” she argued.
According to reviews of past events at the park posted on Resident Advisor, the show Until 3am
“I just don’t understand why outdoor events, especially so close to residential areas, would be allowed until 2 a.m.,” Ricci added at City Hall.
“It’s very frustrating because there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood.”
During council remarks, Councilman Lincoln Resler (D-Brooklyn) said the nonprofit aims to “address these issues” and “find solutions around sound testing and crowd control.”
Horowitz said the group is trying to “soften the sound as much as possible” by redirecting speakers, among other things.
Officials with the North Brooklyn Park Alliance announced Wednesday that they have set up a hotline that neighbors can call if the music becomes too loud.
During the event, the group will also monitor noise levels at about 20 locations within a half-mile radius.
According to X’s post, the Berry Street Alliance, which represents parts of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, calls Under the K a “site of massive noise pollution” and describes the organization that runs the site as a “pro-environmental non-profit entertainment venue.”
“NBKParks generates a lot of car traffic, [sic] “Neighborhood residents are making money from concerts that last until 4am,” the Berry Street Alliance wrote.
The North Brooklyn Parks League’s largest donor is the City Parks Foundation, which is set to allocate $96,900 to the organization in 2022, according to the Nonprofit Monitoring Tool. CauseIQ.
The park also has bike paths, green space and a skate park during the day, so not all residents have a problem with it.
Kevin, 33, told The Post during Wednesday’s town hall that Under the K usually attracts “people who come to skateboard or just enjoy walking along the water.”
To him, it makes a big difference that proceeds from the concert go towards improving the park.
“The problem here is that concerts are being held all over the city and money from them is going into private pockets,” he said.
“So that money just goes to investors. It goes overseas. The big difference here is that even though there are some big concerts going on, the money comes back into the community.”
