St. Johns Houses Tenants Council

I moved to the Bonx about 3 years ago. I moved to the Highbridge section close to Yankee stadium. The area is definitley improving but the people seem to not care about the area or others. First the neighbors are very noisy. No one really speaks to you unless you speak Spanish or African.  It seems like you don't have neighbors you just live there. Everyone seems to stay in a balkanize group. It also seems like everyone also feels the need to blast their music.The apartments that are newly renovated are very nice. The only negative is the walls seem paper thin because you can hear noise in other apartments. The neighbors just let their kids run up and down the hallways yelling, riding bikes, playing kick ball or whatever ......you name it they are doing it. I made repeated complaints to the super about the problem and also to the management.......311 is BS........ The police never come. All you get is a # which I have been forwarding to management company. I am ready to take two neigbors to court over the noise here. It seems like the loud nise is normal topeople in the Bronx. I have one neighbor next door to me. She just blasts her music at 11:00pm all the way to about 4:30am. It also seems like the people don't care about the place where they live.  I never understood that. You live there so why not make the neighborhood as nice as you want it to be. Maybe its lack of self esteem? I am not sure. Some tenants just leave furniture in the hall.They are too lazy to bring downstairs to the trash. I can deal with this but the noise has to go. Bloomberg made a mistake when he invented 311. 311 does not do anything about the noise. 311 is waste of tax payer money.

I really feel bad for you, but then again, you need to be aware you are not living in the suburbs. If you wanted a quiet place move to the country. Really the Bronx? If the city down 42 street is the city that never sleeps, what you think is the Bronx is? Especially Highbridge a place where everyone likes to socialize on the weekends. If is the weekends no one listens, if you call the cops on the weekends they don't do much. And by you calling the cops and making complains does not help making friendly neighbors either. Only call cops for real emergency " life threatening " that is.  If you have a problem with the neighbors, knock the door and ask them politely to keep it down. I find it a nuisance for you to say that kids makes noise all day. What child doesn't make noise. Is True kids should be in bed by 8:30 to 9:00pm but kids are kids. And if parents have a child with a disability is more challenging. If you don't like the neighborhood find another place, if not learn to deal with it. Like I said you won't get friendly neighbors if you don't communicate with them right away, if you come off the wrong way they brush you off. Self esteem have nothing to do with the way people keep the area... I feel it has to do with the way they are raised. And no one  have to know Spanish or African for anybody to speak to you, perhaps has to do the way you approach others. Maybe you make people think your race is superior to theirs. Not all Spanish and African Americans are like that. Another solution is , get a group of people together thats feels the same way you do, and get a petition going ... It takes a group of individuals to make a change and make new laws.. I am a hispanic mom, and my kids knows that the band practice goes off at 7:50 pm on weekdays , and on Saturday's the most 11:50pm yeah yeah there are people who considers others. It does not mean we don't care. 

I agree with everything that you are saying. 311 is a joke. If we lived in the Morris Park Area we would get a response. We need to get together with a petition about this our of control noise. When people havenothing to do all day they have no consideration for people who go to work and need to be able to relax when they get home. Trying to get to know your neighbors is a joke. Whenever you try to do so they act like you are a nosey person tyrin to get into their business. We were raised to look out for each other, but that type of mentality is long gone. Keep on fighting you can't give up!