Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Noise Mitigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Soho Grand seeks to add low‑level courtyard music; neighbors demand testing and limits
Summary
The Soho Grand Hotel asked to introduce ambient music in its Gilligan's courtyard; an acoustician reported tests that he says show safe levels with locked limiters, but nearby residents demanded in‑unit verification and objected to any reintroduction of outdoor amplification.
The Soho Grand Hotel told Manhattan Community Board 2 on Nov. 18 it seeks to add quiet, ambient music to its Gilligan's courtyard and presented an acoustical test plan and third‑party consultant to address resident concerns.
Hotel counsel Donald Bernstein introduced acoustician Alan Feierstein, who said he tested the proposed small‑speaker system at higher levels than planned and could not hear it in a top‑floor nearby apartment with windows open. "I tested at a higher level than they plan to use... I couldn't hear it with the windows open on the Top Floor looking directly down at the courtyard," Feierstein said.
Residents countered that the courtyard is a narrow, echoing space that previously generated significant noise, and several said they would not permit in‑apartment testing; others asked the hotel to fund independent tests in a range of units. Lauren, the hotel's general manager, said the hotel had engaged neighbors and would limit hours and install locked limiters if the board approved music. "We will turn the music off 30 minutes before closure," she said and offered continued independent testing and a 24/7 contact for concerns.
The committee pressed for verifiable, enforceable conditions — including locked limiters, testing in multiple neighboring units and limits on bass/subwoofers — before supporting any change to existing stipulations that had once prohibited outdoor music. The hotel offered to hire the acoustician to test other apartments and to provide a written verification report to the board and the SLA if the system is installed.
Next steps: the committee asked the hotel to pursue voluntary in‑unit testing and to provide a written post‑installation verification and a limiter specification that could be written into stipulations.
