HARLEM YACHT CLUB v. NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD (2007)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, J.), entered on or about March 3, 2006, which denied the application of petitioners yacht club and its commodore to annul the determination of respondent New York City Environmental Control Board (ECB) that petitioners violated the City's noise ordinance on July 19 and August 30, 2000, and imposing fines, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Petitioner yacht club fires a cannon at sundown each day during the boating season to alert its members and guests that the flag on the club's grounds is about to be lowered so that they could stand and show respect.   Neighbors complained about the noise, resulting in the issuance of the first challenged violation for unreasonable noise.   The club then switched from a 10- to a 12-gauge shot to produce a lower sound, but a second violation was nevertheless issued.

 While we agree with petitioners that the firing of the cannon while engaged in a ceremony lowering the flag is protected speech (see Spence v. Washington, 418 U.S. 405, 409-410, 94 S.Ct. 2727, 41 L.Ed.2d 842 [1974] ), we reject their challenge to the constitutionality of the subject noise ordinance (Administrative Code of City of N.Y., § 24-218).   There is no dispute that the ordinance is content-neutral;  respondent met its burden of demonstrating that the ordinance was enacted to further a substantial governmental interest in protecting its citizens from unwelcome noise and is narrowly tailored to achieve that goal (see Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 796, 799, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 [1989];  Carew-Reid v. Metropolitan Transp. Auth., 903 F.2d 914, 917, 919 [2d Cir.1990];  Howard Opera House Assoc. v. Urban Outfitters, 131 F.Supp.2d 559, 567 [D.Vt.2001] );  and petitioners are not without alternative means of communication, as the ordinance does not impose a complete ban on the firing of a cannon and petitioners can still show respect for the flag by firing a cannon at lower sound levels (see Ward, 491 U.S. at 802, 109 S.Ct. 2746 [that city's limitations on volume may reduce to some extent the potential audience for speech is of no consequence absent showing that remaining avenues of communication are inadequate] ).   Nor is the ordinance, which bans “unreasonable noise,” defined as “any excessive or unusually loud sound that disturbs the peace, comfort or repose of a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, injures or endangers the health or safety of a reasonable person of normal sensitivities or which causes injury to plant or animal life, or damage to property or business” (Administrative Code § 24-203[62] ), impermissibly vague (see e.g. Howard Opera House, 131 F.Supp.2d at 565;  Sharkey's, Inc. v. City of Waukesha, 265 F.Supp.2d 984, 992 [E.D.Wisc.2003] ).

 The determination is supported by substantial evidence, including the testimony of respondent's Inspector as to the number of decibels by which the noise created by the cannon exceeded the ambient, or background, level of noise, and that, while standing on the property line of a complainant's abode, about 75 feet from the cannon, the sound of the cannon was “startling” and made him jump even though he was expecting it.