Q: Final month, a hashish store opened beneath my Gramercy condominium. We checked, and it doesn’t have a license to promote marijuana. The shop has a lounge the place folks can keep and smoke, they usually play loud music with a heavy bass all day and evening. It impacts three residences above, which might hear and really feel the music. We reluctantly agreed to a lease enhance shortly earlier than the store opened, so we’re pissed off that we’re paying extra for a worse dwelling expertise. The tremendous and the administration firm are doing nothing to assist. What recourse do we now have, particularly for the reason that area was rented to an unlawful operation?
A: Noise complaints in New York Metropolis typically go nowhere, however fortunately for you, the supply of the noise is an unlawful enterprise, which town and state are excited about shutting down.
The very first thing you are able to do is to make a grievance concerning the unlawful hashish store and lounge to an workplace with an incentive to behave. Begin by submitting a grievance on-line with the state’s Workplace of Hashish Administration, which investigates complaints about unlicensed hashish companies. The town’s 311 web site additionally directs complaints about unlawful marijuana companies to this workplace. (Presently there are not any licensed lounges for on-site hashish consumption in New York Metropolis, in line with the Workplace of Hashish Administration.)
You should use 311 to register complaints about noise coming from a bar, membership or restaurant. The town has legal guidelines proscribing noisy music at bars and eating places between 10 p.m. and seven a.m., and a profitable grievance might result in fines for the enterprise.
One other plan of action is to write down a letter, from both your self or your lawyer. If the noise is the difficulty you’re most involved about, begin negotiations with a letter to the enterprise proprietor, stated Adam Leitman Bailey, a Manhattan actual property lawyer. You should use the unlawful nature of the enterprise as leverage, stating that you just’re prepared to disregard that in trade for decrease noise ranges throughout sure hours, reminiscent of between 9 p.m. and seven a.m. on weeknights.
You’ll be able to bolster your place by threatening, and even submitting, a lawsuit in opposition to the enterprise and the owner. “If the store ignores the letter, the subsequent transfer could be for an injunction in State Supreme Courtroom,” Mr. Bailey stated.
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