NY - Parents May Face Jail Over Kid's Backyard Noise

I know when my kids get in the pool they love to scream "cannonball" at the top of their lungs and then do one. I'm glad our neighbors don't seem to care as I love to hear them having the times of their lives and being happy, joyful kids.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — It's what kids do: Squeal in delight when they're having fun. But to some Long Island residents, those squeals are unwelcome noise and they want two neighborhood girls to pipe down when they're playing in their backyard pool.
The girls' parents, William and Rachel Poczatek, were hit with a notice of violation after neighbors in their bayfront village of Bayville complained that Ashley, 11, and Chloe, 5, played too loudly.
"I just can't believe it," William Poczatek said in a telephone interview Wednesday, hours before a scheduled appearance in village court to answer the charges. "What, are you telling me that a kid can't make noise? It's not fair."
The Poczateks were charged under a village ordinance for violating a noise code usually reserved for "the shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers and vendors which disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood," their attorney said. They could face a fine of $250 or 15 days in jail.
Neighbors in this posh community on Long Island's north shore contend, however, that this isn't your ordinary splashing, giggling and merriment coming from the Poczateks' yard.
"I have five dogs," said neighbor Sheila Brown, who complained to village officials about the racket. "Five dogs don't make this much noise. This is not something that started yesterday. They have been asked politely, but this is an ongoing issue far beyond children just playing in the pool."
more at link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285193,00.html

What NASTY awful neighbors!!!

We have a neighbor who has two young children and a couple of times a week we hear the 3 YO screaming at her brother ...
We have lovingly dubbed her "The Screamer"
We just laugh.
We get concerned if we don't hear her for several days... Hubbby or I will say to one another .. "gosh I haven't heard The Screamer lately have you?"

I can't imagine that these people even hear those children in their HUGE homes with the A/c running.
Just nasty mean people who are probably miserable about everything.

Amraann said:

What NASTY awful neighbors!!!

We have a neighbor who has two young children and a couple of times a week we hear the 3 YO screaming at her brother ...
We have lovingly dubbed her "The Screamer"
We just laugh.
We get concerned if we don't hear her for several days... Hubbby or I will say to one another .. "gosh I haven't heard The Screamer lately have you?"

I can't imagine that these people even hear those children in their HUGE homes with the A/c running.
Just nasty mean people who are probably miserable about everything.

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Boy, you said it! I can't imagine being so miserable that the sound of children playing IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD would bother me to the point that I had to COMPLAIN about it, let alone making a FORMAL complaint where the parents are assessed fines!!!! These neighbors need to get a life!!! Childhaters, pure and simple IMO. If the sound of children playing irritates them soooo much that they can't handle it, then they probably shouldn't have moved to FAMILY neighborhood. OR next to families!!!!

I suppose it would be much better to keep the children in the house all day, with the blinds closed. They should probably spend their free time only watching TV and playing video games. You know, the whole antiquated "be seen and not heard" attitude. PUH-LEEZE!!!!

Our noise ordinance specifies times for disturbing the peace. I noticed their noise code has the same along with the decibels allowed.

I suggest the family measure the decibels when their children are playing and see if they are within code.

They allow between 50 and 70dB during normal day hours, and that's a range of "quiet suburb" to "busy traffic". I doubt those two children are maintaining higher than 70 db's for that long!

MY guess is these neighbors have some previous issues..
Like possibly the dogs barked nonstop and they got fined..

It's not just one neighbor who complained. Apparently these girls' screaming and/or squealing is abnormally loud and annoying. Children can shout and have fun in a pool without disturbing the lives of their neighbors.

Their parents should have seen that they turned the noise level down when they were approached by several neighbors about the problem. Just because they are children does not mean they should be allowed to make public nuisances of themselves.

These are probably the same sort of parents who allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores. They can't be bothered with the effort of teaching their children to be thoughtful of others and they're afraid of even temporarily displeasing their children.

If they love their children, they should do the hard work of instilling some character in them.

They are in their own yard at their own house...not out in public. Geez let them be happy kids if people don't like kids around then move to the country and buy a bunch of land.

STEADFAST said:

It's not just one neighbor who complained. Apparently these girls' screaming and/or squealing is abnormally loud and annoying. Children can shout and have fun in a pool without disturbing the lives of their neighbors.

Their parents should have seen that they turned the noise level down when they were approached by several neighbors about the problem. Just because they are children does not mean they should be allowed to make public nuisances of themselves.

These are probably the same sort of parents who allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores. They can't be bothered with the effort of teaching their children to be thoughtful of others and they're afraid of even temporarily displeasing their children.

If they love their children, they should do the hard work of instilling some character in them.

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Very well said.

STEADFAST said:

It's not just one neighbor who complained. Apparently these girls' screaming and/or squealing is abnormally loud and annoying. Children can shout and have fun in a pool without disturbing the lives of their neighbors.

Their parents should have seen that they turned the noise level down when they were approached by several neighbors about the problem. Just because they are children does not mean they should be allowed to make public nuisances of themselves.

These are probably the same sort of parents who allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores. They can't be bothered with the effort of teaching their children to be thoughtful of others and they're afraid of even temporarily displeasing their children.

If they love their children, they should do the hard work of instilling some character in them.

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I don't see how it can be said that they are making "public nuisances of themselves." It's in their own backyard. They are kids. Kids play, and in numbers, it get's loud.

I wouldn't necessarily say that these are the same parents who "allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores." Boy, that's comparing apples to oranges, IMO.

I understand that parents should teach their children to be thoughtful of others, but does that mean that they must always have to hinder their play to be mindful of being "too loud" when they are playing in their own backyard? If so, WHERE should kids be allowed to just play unabashedly without having to worry if their shrieks and giggles are going to upset someone if not in their own backyard? Nowhere? Do they ALWAYS have to be wary of being too loud, even at home?

Slowly but surely, there are many in the world who are taking the childhood out of being a child. Luckily for me, none of those types live by me. I have kids, and a backyard pool, and every single day my kids are in the pool, with many neighborhood kid coming over to take a dip, and it gets loud, for sure. Couple many kids playing "sharks & minnows" or "marco polo" with the stero with outdoor speakers turned on, and it does get loud. I don't permit them to be loud at night while swimming. They don't try to be loud during the day, it's just par for the course when a group of kids are playing, outside, in one of our backyards and having fun. The development I live in is very family-friendly, kids going back and forth from house to house, impromptu soccer games at the end of the cul-de-sac, etc. I can't imagine having neighbors who scoff at children being children. Isn't there communities where people who don't like hearing kids can go and live?

The world today can be a scary place for kids. They face so much more growing up than any of us ever did. They are growing up at a much faster rate than ever before. So many people don't want children to be children....they want them to be little adults. Not me! As long as it's not sleeping hours...play on & play hard. I say these grumpy neighbors should either move, or put some earplugs in. I'd be willing to bet that the neighbors moaning and groaning about it don't have any kids of their own--and I suppose that's probably a very good thing.

This is so pathetic. My son is not allowed to scream in the house-he is to take it outside. All children scream-it's just what they do when something excites them. Perhaps we should embrace the sound of screaming and laughter in children. The world is a scary place anymore. Kids just aren't aloud to be kids anymore, are they? Geesh!:doh:

It depends on the screams. I have heard little girls who scream as thought they are being chased by an axe murderer, just to see how loud they can scream. "Squeals" of happiness, yelling at each other etc. are fine, but some kids find it entertaining to scream as if terrified. It gets to be very nerve-wracking. It is also unwise for the parents to permit this because everybody assumes that little Katies is just screaming as usual on the one day when she really is scared.

GreenEyedGirl said:

This is so pathetic. My son is not allowed to scream in the house-he is to take it outside. All children scream-it's just what they do when something excites them. Perhaps we should embrace the sound of screaming and laughter in children. The world is a scary place anymore. Kids just aren't aloud to be kids anymore, are they? Geesh!:doh:

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Why isn't your son allowed to scream in the house? Shouldn't you embrace the sound?

As far as these kids in the article go, I can only assume that they aren't the only children in this affluent neighborhood or the only ones with a pool. Yet they are the only ones disturbing people. I think they must be extrordinarily loud and shrill for the situation to have gotten to this point.

The kids in my neighborhood seem to be allowed to be kids. They ride bikes, play ball, chase each other around. And they all yell a lot. But they do not emit piercing, high-decibal shrieks. Thank goodness.

eleven said:

I don't see how it can be said that they are making "public nuisances of themselves." It's in their own backyard. They are kids. Kids play, and in numbers, it get's loud.

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Because noise carries.

It's no different than someone blasting their stereo at ridiculous levels at ridiculous hours if you live next door. The music players are in the privacy of their own home and parties get loud and boisterous while people have fun, BUT it becomes a legal public nuisance when it reaches a certain decibel level and starts to disturb others.

Now - about this case, I'll take my clue from the summoned family's 74-year-old next door neighbor who has no complaint. Unless he's deaf, he just seems to be more accepting of the play noises kids make than some of the other scrooges on the block.

Looks like the family wasn't fined or anything, so someone had some sense.

STEADFAST said:

It's not just one neighbor who complained. Apparently these girls' screaming and/or squealing is abnormally loud and annoying. Children can shout and have fun in a pool without disturbing the lives of their neighbors.

Their parents should have seen that they turned the noise level down when they were approached by several neighbors about the problem. Just because they are children does not mean they should be allowed to make public nuisances of themselves.

These are probably the same sort of parents who allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores. They can't be bothered with the effort of teaching their children to be thoughtful of others and they're afraid of even temporarily displeasing their children.

If they love their children, they should do the hard work of instilling some character in them.

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What is wrong with having a little neighborly consideration? Even if one neighbor complained, I would ask my children to pipe down. I suspect that this family has discussed this issue and the children are acting out and being even louder because their parents condone it.

Unfortunately, the children will be the ones who may learn the hard way when they are older that the world does not revolve around them.

My cousin's children are screamers. I am talking high pitched, piercing your ear drums kind of screams. When they come to visit my parents' pool, they drive my father crazy because they are so ill-mannered. Meanwhile, my cousin (who is 40 years old) lays on a lounge chair and reads while ignoring the incessant shrieking. My father lays the smack down the second these girls enter his pool area. Initially I thought he was just being a cranky old man, but after one hour with these girls I could see he was right. IMO, this is every bit as annoying as the neighbor who leaves their barking dog outside all day. I think it is a bit ridiculous that these people may have gotten 15 days in jail for this, but I can certainly see where it is an annoyance.

White Rain said:

Neighbors in this posh community

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And this is where I stopped reading. I have my answer.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Paladin said:

And this is where I stopped reading. I have my answer.

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LOL, some people are reasonable in that town:

New York Parents Won't Face Jail Over Their Kids' Backyard Noise
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285193,00.html

The complaints fell on deaf ears Wednesday night when Bayville's acting village justice dismissed a summons accusing the girls' parents, William and Rachel Poczatek, of violating a village noise ordinance.

Taximom said:

LOL, some people are reasonable in that town:

New York Parents Won't Face Jail Over Their Kids' Backyard Noise
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285193,00.html

The complaints fell on deaf ears Wednesday night when Bayville's acting village justice dismissed a summons accusing the girls' parents, William and Rachel Poczatek, of violating a village noise ordinance.

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www./News/NewsArticle.aspx?contentGUID=50ae05c2-15fb-4e6f-882f-4cad9f223c84

"The Poczateks were cleared because the ordinance is usually reserved for 'the shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers and vendors, which disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood,' their attorney said.


"The statute didn't apply," insisted attorney Andrew Campanelli, who got no argument from the judge or prosecutor."

Masterj said:

My cousin's children are screamers. I am talking high pitched, piercing your ear drums kind of screams. When they come to visit my parents' pool, they drive my father crazy because they are so ill-mannered. Meanwhile, my cousin (who is 40 years old) lays on a lounge chair and reads while ignoring the incessant shrieking. My father lays the smack down the second these girls enter his pool area. Initially I thought he was just being a cranky old man, but after one hour with these girls I could see he was right. IMO, this is every bit as annoying as the neighbor who leaves their barking dog outside all day. I think it is a bit ridiculous that these people may have gotten 15 days in jail for this, but I can certainly see where it is an annoyance.

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I was sitting in my backyard, in the shade, reading my book. My neighbor's children came out into their rear yard to go swimming in their little pool. At first, it didn't bother me... normal playing, yelling, splashing... then, all of a sudden, one of the little girls started an ear piercing scream that she continuously decided to belt out. Not only was it ear-hurting and annoying, it ruined my time in my OWN yard... I packed it up and went in, just to get away from the sound.

If this is what these neighbor's continuously put up with, I don't blame them for complaining. And if the parents don't deal with it, then yes, the law should. JMO...