[Paleopsych] NYT: It Can Be an Annoying Jingle, Mister Softee Concedes at Hearing

[Premise Checker]

It Can Be an Annoying Jingle, Mister Softee Concedes at Hearing
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/27/nyregion/27noise.html
January 27, 2005

    By WINNIE HU

    He was the star witness, and had come before the City Council to
    speak on one of the Bloomberg administration's more controversial
    proposals. With the news media closely watching, James Conway Jr., the
    scion of the family that founded Mister Softee, had an admission to
    make: the Mister Softee ditty, a staple of urban summer, could be so
    annoying that even he would not want it playing outside his house all
    day.

    "Does it get stuck in your head occasionally?" he said. "We hope so.
    But the Mister Softee song as a threat to the health and welfare of
    New Yorkers? I don't think so."

    The jingle, with its lyrics, "Listen for my store on wheels,
    ding-a-ling down the street," has become a flashpoint in the debate
    over revising the city's noise code. From dogs that bark too long to
    nightclubs that draw neighbors' complaints, the administration wants
    new restrictions, but it found wide-ranging opposition at yesterday's
    City Council hearing.

    Also speaking out against the administration's plan was the New York
    Nightlife Association, which contended that some of the city's hottest
    nightclubs would become sitting ducks for a newly empowered noise
    police. And a coalition of labor unions protested that picket lines
    and demonstrations could also become easy targets.

    These critics say that while they are not opposed to updating the
    code, the current plan is too vague and could impose an unnecessary
    expense and burden on many businesses while doing little to combat
    problems like early morning construction and noisy smokers gathered on
    the street.

    "In the real world, the current code is a joke, and this is worse,"
    said David Rabin, the co-owner of the nighclub Lotus and president of
    the nightlife association.

    In a city with no shortage of complainers, excessive noise in any form
    - the ricochet of jackhammers, the thumping of club music, the drone
    of air-conditioners - has long fostered complaints. The Department of
    Environmental Protection, which oversees the noise code, receives an
    average of 3,500 complaints a month.

    David B. Tweedy, the agency's acting commissioner, said the city wants
    to reduce sound levels by adopting more enforceable regulations on
    construction, air-conditioners, and bars and clubs that play music,
    among other things. To encourage cooperation, he said, no penalties
    would be levied for a first offense if the person or business agreed
    to make changes to comply with the code.

    In addition, enforcement officers would be allowed to issue violations
    for "plainly audible" sounds coming from commercial music
    establishments, personal audio devices and exhausts on cars and
    motorcycles. Currently, they are required to register potential
    offenses on handheld decibel meters, which they say require frequent
    adjustments and are prone to error.

    "This proposal provides a flexible approach to address the No. 1
    quality-of-life complaint," Mr. Tweedy said. "And balances the need
    for construction, development and nightlife with the need for peace
    and quiet enjoyment for the city's residents."

    But several council members expressed skepticism about the plan and
    pledged to vote against it. Councilwoman Margarita López, who
    represents the Lower East Side and the East Village, said the new
    regulations could be used to harass businesses and called the plan "a
    threat to the economic development of my community."

    While the four-hour hearing was packed with critics of the city's
    plan, there were also many supporters, including frustrated residents
    and members of a group known as Noise, which is short for Neighbors
    Against Noxious Odors, Incessant Sounds and Emissions.

    But it was Mister Softee that drew the most interest. Councilman
    Charles Barron of Brooklyn told Mr. Tweedy: "You and the mayor are
    very bold taking on Mister Softee. You're going to traumatize a lot of
    children in this city."

    Mr. Conway said that the current plan would not only silence the 347
    Mister Softee trucks that operate in the city but also disappoint more
    than 120,000 customers. Instead, Mr. Conway proposed a compromise:
    stop the music only when trucks are parked for a certain length of
    time.

    Anything more, he said, would cause sales to plummet.

    "To get a sense of what this would do to us, remember when you were a
    kid," he said. "You heard the jingle, you grabbed your money and you
    ran to the truck. The way you knew Mister Softee was in the
    neighborhood was the song."