They’ve heard just about enough of this.
Ear-splitting, high-decibel street parties fueled by cars with booming sound systems are making life hell for residents from the Bronx to Brooklyn — as the massive automotive meetups are becoming an ever-more frequent nuisance.
The unregulated revelries are often louder than planes landing at LaGuardia and feature drugs, booze, strippers and wet t-shirt contests, all within earshot of neighborhoods such as Maspeth in Queens, Greenpoint in Brooklyn and Throggs Neck in the Bronx, residents said.
“It sounds like a missile being launched at your home from all directions,” said Astoria resident Jay Cane, 40.
“You know it will be a long night when the windows are vibrating.
“You shut your windows and turn on air conditioners and fans to drown out the noise, even in the winter,” the frustrated local said.
The events, which got their start during the COVID-19 pandemic, often last all hours of the night, as sounds blast from gigantic car-mounted speakers referred to as “kitipo” systems.
Residents tormented by the noise of the illicit meetups — which can feature dozens of cars paying to participate — said the city and cops are having little luck cracking down on them.
“There’s a sense we’re being forgotten by the city because we have exhausted all the options it has provided, and we’re losing hope,” Cane said.
John DiMario, co-owner of Village Chapels funeral home in Middle Village, said the ruckus
could wake the dead.
“It booms off every surface in my house,” said DiMario, who lives in Maspeth. “It’s been going
on for so long, and lately, it’s starting earlier.”
Alfredo Centola, co-founder of the nonprofit We Love Whitestone, said he and his family deal several times a week with intrusive noise from unlawful rendezvous in Willets Point and World’s Fair Marina in Queens, as well as Ferry Point in The Bronx.
“It’s a constant and consistent boom, boom, boom overnight,” said Centola, 54. “It’s the most frustrating experience in the world.”
Locals said the events’ organizers assemble in Industrial Business Zones and “mixed-use” areas that are abandoned at night. There have been large-scale meetups outside of Vaughn College in East Elmhurst, Queens, and Maspeth’s UPS Customer Center, as well as on Randall’s Island — within walking distance of NYPD parking.
The gatherings also feature the illegal sale of “nutcrackers,” a street cocktail made of alcohol and fruit punch, and “endless pot smoking,” neighbors claim.
In one case, there have been reports of roughly 10 cars equipped with roaring stereos, synchronized by Bluetooth, routinely gathering in Greenpoint underneath the Kosciuszko Bridge.
“There is noise three or four times a week when there aren’t events in ‘Under The K Bridge Park,’ ” said Natalia Rzeszutek, 23, of eastern Greenpoint. “It’s mostly on weekends, but you have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights where this has been a big issue,” too.
In The Bronx, Friends of Ferry Point Park President Dorothea Poggi said these intolerable meetups frequently invade areas around the park, creating “a hot spot for crime” where things sometimes turn violent.
“People are making big money using the park and the streets as a venue; they aren’t paying the overhead to host a party, but they charge hundreds of people admission,” Poggi said. “There are drugs and alcohol; they’ve had strippers and wet t-shirt contests; there was even sex going on – it’s crazy.”
An upcoming expected epic meetup – touted as an “outdoor music car show battle” – is planned for July 13 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Jamaica, Queens. An online ticket-seller lists general admission as $25, while the cost for vendors is more than $535.
Centola, Poggi and Rzeszutek are all members of the Facebook group “That Annoying Bass Sound Throughout NYC,” which Cane created to share tips about the illegal noise compromising their comfort.
When meetups occur, page members request that people place 311 calls in the hope that their reports will be prioritized.
“The group was formed by fed-up residents who want to end the underground meetups,” Cane said. “We’re all waiting for legislation to address these illegal speakers.”
Alicia Vaichunas, deputy chief of staff for city Councilman Robert Holden and a candidate for city council herself, lives near a regular nuisance in Maspeth and is active in the Facebook group. She said a Maspeth woman who tried to confront the source of the noise was threatened with a baseball bat.
“This happens at three or four Maspeth locations alone,” Vaichunas said. “If the police chase them, they’ll switch locations, and then we have to get the cops back out there again.”
In March 2024, Holden introduced a bill that would have increased civil penalties for unreasonable noise from personal audio devices. He said there has been success in curbing parties in some parks but adds that the NYPD needs more power to mute the meetups.
“What we’ve been doing on the local level is trying to get the police to confiscate,” Holden said. “I told police Commissioner Tisch that the local precincts cannot handle this; we need a special task force.”
The NYPD did not return Post requests for comment.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a member of Holden’s Common-Sense Caucus, said a new law is needed to prevent illegal car stereos from hitting the streets.
“We proposed to make it illegal to operate a vehicle in New York State with a non-factory sound system installed which utilizes an external power supply,” Paladino said. “This would make these cars impossible to register and inspect and subject them to impoundment if found in use.”
Residents and officials hope that the NYPD’s new Quality of Life Division, which launched Labor Day weekend, will help muffle the noise-causing car-speaker showdowns.
“I’d like to see the Quality of Life units roll out in Queens and The Bronx first to address illegal parties,” Cane said. “Right now, it’s a constant headache.”
