Dear Editor,
I awoke on Monday morning, July 28, 2014 reflecting on the ordeal of the night before. We, the residents of Forshaw Street, Queenstown, were subjected for approximately ten-and-a-half hours (2 pm to 28 minutes after midnight the next day) to loud music which got progressively louder as the night wore on. Four (7.30 pm, 8.30 pm, 9.30pm and 12.20 am) calls to the Alberttown police station were answered with the response that they would send the police patrol, with the 9.30 pm police response being “if the music players are in receipt of permission the music would stop at midnight” in addition to a further comment from the officer that they are expected to lower the volume during the night. At exactly 12.28 am on Monday, July 28 the music stopped.
My appeal to the police authorities is echoing the concerns of other residents who complained of the discomfort with headaches and the inability to sleep until the music finally stopped. The sound effects of the music involved drumming and vibrating, resulting in sore heads and for some, headaches.
Are fellow residents so inconsiderate and unmindful of those of us who regard our homes as a place of solace and quiet? Is Queenstown no longer a residential neighbourhood? Aren’t these types of musical entertainment not held in public dance halls rather than residences any longer?
What was entertainment for the players of the music was noise and discomfort for others. It sounded as though the music boxes were on the street and not in a building – as if it were a block party.
We wish to let it be known that the noise was an intrusion into our private space known as our homes. This intrusion is a violation of our rights as residents since we were forced to endure this unwelcome music until the wee hours of the morning.
When we thought we could have recourse to calling the police, there was no relief whatever. We wondered whether the police themselves were not hearing the music since it was in Forshaw Street between Oronoque and Albert while the Alberttown police station is two blocks away at Albert and Fourth streets. Can’t the Ministry of Home Affairs put a stop to this noise nuisance?
Must we as residents continue to be subjected to this torture and torment by a few inconsiderate fellow citizens? To continue with this behaviour is disgusting and disrespectful of each other, and more particularly the seniors and babies in our midst.
Yours faithfully,
Maria Rodrigues
