You are allowed to perform works on your property between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. At any other time, including any time on weekends, you must request an authorization after business hours. If the noise occurs on a Saturday, it may still be legal.
There are variations in the hours when construction noise is legal on Saturdays. Before calling the police, check the local noise laws in your area. Construction outside business hours is allowed when work is considered to be safer or less disruptive to a neighborhood. Construction outside business hours is allowed when work is considered to be safer or less harmful to a neighborhood, such as building near a school or an area with heavy traffic.
Many sources of noise in ongoing construction and in existing buildings can be mitigated with proper design and planning. That year, the DOB received 3,729 complaints through 311 regarding construction work carried out illegally outside of office hours. If you're a homeowner, you may find that there are situations where there's nothing you can do about construction noise. Although most complaints are due to loud music and parties, loud construction projects are also frequently reported.
Construction starts very early to maximize profits, avoid the summer heat and so that young parents can be home to their children after school. Whether you're a construction worker or a disgruntled homeowner, understanding local noise regulations is key to helping you address discussions about noise in your community. To learn more about the legal concepts addressed in these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law. And, according to the state comptroller's office, construction companies accounted for 10 percent of the city's economic output last year.
These complaints are much less common during the winter, when weather conditions are often not suitable for construction. If the construction is carried out after a legal deadline or violates a local or state noise law, the company in question could receive a fine. To understand how complicated this debate is, you first need to know why construction starts so early. Whatever the case, understanding the laws in your community will allow you to approach the situation with clear legal knowledge.
Check the status of the code you are investigating with the state legislature or through Westlaw before relying on it for your legal needs. The debate about what time of day construction should be allowed to begin is mainly a divide between homeowners and business owners. If construction works are carried out after the legal deadline, you can call the local police station's non-emergency line and file a noise complaint. From time to time, on a local news channel, viewers can find a story about a group of city residents who push to ban the use of leaf blowers in the morning or enact restrictions on legal construction schedules.
