Supervisor silences opponent of noise law

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. » A public hearing about a proposed noise law suddenly went silent when a speaker was stopped from sounding off on his belief that the regulations are rooted in a generation gap regarding musical taste.

At a Town Board meeting Tuesday, resident Jordan Roque said board members were upset about loud music because of the artist rather than the volume.

“It’s not uncommon for the preceding generation to misunderstand the music and expression of the next generation,” he said. “The ‘music is too loud,’ they said, or my personal favorite [is] ‘not music,’ just like their parents and grandparents have said to them.”

Roque added that “to say the music is too loud, well these are loud times, and until recently, the youth of this town have been suffocated in silence.”

Woodstock Supervisor Bill McKenna stopped Roque after the comment, which was part of a four-minute speech, noting that the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center had been specifically designated as location where young bands are encouraged.

“You’re making this about an attack on your music,” McKenna said. “It isn’t.”

McKenna then closed public comment over the objections of some board members, who he tried to cut off from asking Rogue how much longer he planned to speak.

“It is a public hearing, and we asked for public thought,” Councilwoman Laura Ricci said. “If he’s almost finished, I’d like to hear what he has to say. If he’s going to keep on going for two hours, it’s an issue. But it is a public hearing, and it’s kind of odd to say ... we’re going to cut you off now.”

Rogue responded that he had two pages of prepared comments, and he received support from several audience members who said McKenna was “silencing” opinions he didn’t like.

Councilman Richard Heppner voiced concern that the proposed law seemed to put too much focus on the town business district rather than the intended target of sound-oriented disturbances.

“I wrote this,” Heppner said. “It has nothing to do with music. It had to do with short-term rentals. That’s the noise problem I want to address . ... That’s what’s changing in this town.”

McKenna earlier said the proposed law would be discussed by the board at its scheduled April 24 meeting, which will be in the Town Hall on Tinker Street.

Prohibited under the proposed law would be:

• Unnecessary noise from any source between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

• Noise from a dog or other pet that is continuous and exceeds 15 minutes. The same limit would apply to alarm systems for buildings and vehicles.

• Excessive or unreasonable noise from any live music, sound reproduction system, radio, tape player, television, or device that reproduces or amplifies sound.

• Excavation, demolition, alternation or repair of any building between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. The same limits would apply to the use of power equipment, with the time extended to 8 a.m. on weekends.

• Operating an automobile or motorcycle in a manner to cause excessive squealing or other excessive noise of the tires.