The noisy patrons of Inwood’s burgeoning bar crawl are bringing on complaints in droves from locals who can’t seem to get any sleep.
Inwood residents have filed a record 20,000 noise complaints so far this year, almost a third more than were reported in the same time frame five years ago, the blog Northattan reported. Residents blame the noise on the surge of bars and restaurants now serving alcohol — officials granted more than 60 liquor, beer and wine licenses this year, double the number granted in 2008, Northattan said.
Inwood’s growing number of residents is partly the reason the northern Manhattan neighborhood needs more bars in more places.
One notorious restaurant, La Marina, has been downplaying the crowds it draws at board meetings, telling the community it hosts about 500 people when it really has an 1,800-person capacity, according to residents. Local protests against the restaurant’s parties resulted in the cancellation of a concert over the summer. La Marina’s response? In a statement: “The party must go on.”
Failed attempts by an advocate group dubbed Moving Forward Unidos to get the New York Police Department involved have made locals desperate. They are now pushing a petition for a 10 p.m. bedtime.
“The noise is absolutely from the growth of restaurants that play loud music,” founding member of Moving Forward Nancy Preston told Northattan. “We believe that the restaurants have a place here — a valuable one — but they must be good neighbors.” [Northattan] — TRD