New Yorkers and visitors to the megacity of 8.5 million people are bombarded with blaring sirens, loud locals, raucous bars and car horns almost constantly.
A citywide hotline received 750,000 noise complaints in 2024, the most commonly complained about quality of life issue.
The city that never sleeps, perhaps because it can’t, is one of the few built up US areas with a noise code regulating sound from vehicles, construction, businesses, and recreation.
It has even installed cameras with sensors to detect and penalize violators.
Nine-in-ten New Yorkers are at risk of hearing loss from daily exposure to noise levels exceeding 70 decibels, the healthy average, a Columbia University study conducted between 2010 and 2012 found.
The report’s author, professor Richard Neitzel, is now leading the first national study on noise in which 200,000 volunteers wear smart watches to track sound levels.
Read the article: Sounds serious: NYC noise pollution takes a toll
Exposure Research Lab 