Upper West Side Community Board Takes Stand Against Emergency Sirens

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Upper West Side community board took a blaring stand against emergency sirens during its November meeting.

The Health & Human Services Committee, along with other members of Community Board 7, unanimously approved three resolutions with a vote of 37 to 0 that had to do with different approaches to quieting sirens from emergency and law enforcement vehicles.

"CB7 recognizes the importance of the use of sirens for emergency vehicles to help vehicles move expeditiously during emergencies," Community Board 7 wrote in a recap of its meeting on the issue posted to its website. "However, for the wellbeing of residents of our community and all New Yorkers, the use of sirens and disruptiveness of the siren noise needs to be reduced significantly as much as practically possible."

Here are the three specific siren-related resolutions the Upper West Side community board passed.

• "Community Board 7 requests that Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council takes action to mitigate the effects on health and quality of life of our community residents, workers and visitors to our community as well as all New Yorkers, balanced with the need for emergency vehicles to respond quickly to emergencies.
• Community Board 7 supports City Council legislation that would require an alternating two tone high and low signal on emergency vehicles.
• Community Board 7 recommends to Upper West Side elected representatives that the use of sirens be limited to emergency use, and during emergency use, sirens should only be turned on as necessary. Additionally, sirens should be reduced during sleeping hours, 7 p.m. to 11 a.m., when there is less traffic."

Patch lightly edited Community Board 7's recap of resolutions for clarity.

The UWS community board also referenced Council Member Gale Brewer's opinion piece on sirens in September 2022 that read — "With so many working from home since the pandemic, the noise of sirens has become even more oppressive. Sirens perform a critical function, but they do not need to be so disruptive."

In terms of the City Council legislation referenced above, a bill was introduced in March 2022 with the goal of amending New York City's administrative code to require alternating high and low, two-toned signals on emergency vehicles opposed to the constantly high ones.

The bill also states that no emergency sound should exceed 90 decibels when measured at distance of fifty feet from the front of the vehicle.

"No person shall operate or use or cause to be operated or used any emergency signal device, except on an authorized emergency vehicle when such vehicle is in the act of responding to an emergency; provided that such device shall not be operated for a period of time longer than is necessary to respond to such emergency," reads the beginning of the bill that would go into effect 180 days after it was passed.

Council Member Carlina Rivera is the primary sponsor of the bill, along with 11 other City Council members, including Manhattan elected officials Gale Brewer, Erik Bottcher, and Christopher Marte.

While the Upper West Side community board can pass resolutions on supporting the legislation and advocating for quieter sirens, it does not actually have the power to change any laws on its own.

The city did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment on where they stood on the current noise levels of sirens on emergency vehicles.

You can check out Community Board 7's full remarks on the issue of sirens on its website.