Here Are Hell's Kitchen's Noisiest Spots This Summer

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — As the city wakes up from its pandemic slumber, Hell's Kitcheners are making hundreds of complaints about noisy parties, cars and construction — and maps of the complaints shed light on the neighborhood's loudest spots.

Patch used city data to find the 311 noise complaints made since June 1 in Hell's Kitchen's three ZIP codes, then picked out the ones made west of Eighth Avenue, the neighborhood's traditional border.

All told, since June, there have been 755 noise complaints made in Hell's Kitchen. That makes noise the most common type of complaint in the neighborhood this summer, outnumbering other nuisances like dirty sidewalks and hot water outages.

About 79 percent of those complaints — 596 in total — were closed without any action because no violations were found, city agencies could not gain entry to the location, or for other reasons.

Around 125 complaints were actually addressed. These include a loud gathering on West 38th Street near Ninth Avenue (police issued a summons on June 13) and a complaint about noisy ventilation or air conditioners at a parking garage on West 49th Street (the city issued a violation on June 22).

Patch broke down the noise complaints into a few subcategories and created interactive maps to show where they are most common. (The maps display best on web browsers.)

Loud Music/Party

The 312 complaints about loud music or partying made since June are spread across Hell's Kitchen.

The map shows them clustered along the avenues, including Ninth and 10th, which are lined with bars and restaurants.

One especially busy block is West 52nd Street between 10th and 11th avenues, where more than a dozen complaints were made in June and July — mostly about noise coming from the street.

Construction noise

People in Hell's Kitchen have made 57 construction noise complaints since June, more than half of which concerned work going on too early or late in the day.

A map shows them clustered in a few spots, including 1 River Place (eight complaints) and 855 Ninth Ave. (four complaints).

Vehicle noise

The 154 complaints about noisy vehicles include 92 complaints about idling engines, 38 about blasting music and 24 about honking.

Unsurprisingly, vehicle complaints are also concentrated along Hell's Kitchen's avenues. Especially noisy spots include Ninth Avenue between West 50th and 53rd streets and the Worldwide Plaza building at 393 West 49th St., where a whopping 47 idling complaints were made.

Related coverage: Noise Is Driving Stuck-At-Home New Yorkers Nuts, 311 Data Shows