I was wrong, you can still play the ice cream truck song, but only while the truck is moving. I love Bloomberg! And I love NYT. Sprightly ditty, indeed.
That Jingle of Mr. Softee's? It's the Sound of Compromise
Laura Pedrick for The New York Times
And in the end, the jingle prevailed.
The Bloomberg administration will allow the ice cream trucks to continue playing the sprightly ditty while trolling for young customers. But under a compromise with the City Council, the jingle must be halted when the trucks are not moving.
The administration's plan to ban the jingle was the most intriguing element of an ambitious citywide noise crackdown, which was intended to curb a wide array of everyday nuisances like blaring music, barking dogs and noisy air-conditioners.
Under a proposed agreement with the Council, the mayor's noise-control measures would largely be carried out, with a few concessions. One potentially far-reaching change to the current noise code would allow police officers and noise inspectors to use their own ears to judge excessive noise instead of relying on cumbersome meters to measure decibels.
The agreement would also impose stringent time limits on barking dogs; if they don't stop within 5 minutes late at night, or 10 minutes during the day and early evening, their owners can be cited.
Noisy sanitation trucks would be bannedfrom collecting garbage within 50 feet of a residence between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. And most construction projects would have to stop overnight, except for emergencies, public safety work or where the builder faces undue hardship like financial penalties.
The Council will take up the mayor's revisions to the noise code today at a hearing of the Environmental Protection Committee. Assistants to the mayor and the Council said yesterday that the legislation is expected to be approved when the full Council meets on Dec. 21 for the last time this year.
"There clearly has been a lot of progress, the only question is, is it enough?" said Councilman James F. Gennaro, the committee chairman. "Many people have legitimate concerns about the bill. We will find out whether those legitimate concerns have been adequately addressed."
The sudden turnaround on the noise legislation caught many council members and lobbyists by surprise. The changes had languished in the Council since January, when a contentious hearing solidified opposition among some council members, Mister Softee executives, labor unions, the construction industry and nightclub owners.
During the hearing, James Conway Jr., of the family that founded Mister Softee, acknowledged that the ice cream jingle could be annoying, adding, "But the Mister Softee song as a threat to the health and welfare of New Yorkers? I don't think so."
The noise legislation is the last major item remaining on the mayor's legislative agenda from his first term. Members of the mayor's staff have complained that it was blocked by Council SpeakerGifford Miller, a mayoral candidate who initially pledged to address the issue. These aides say that Mr. Miller was loath to hand the mayor a victory during the election campaign.
At Mr. Miller's direction, the long-stalled legislation began moving again around Thanksgiving after the Council renewed negotiations with the administration. Several council members said yesterday that Mr. Miller, who must leave office this month because of term limits, is seeking one final accomplishment.
But Robert S. Bookman, the lawyer for the New York Nightlife Association, criticized the Council for rushing through the legislation before the public had a full chance to weigh it.
"We're now on the right track," he said. "The process is starting to work. It should not be cut short. There's no midnight deadline here. No one's going to turn into a pumpkin."
Mr. Conway, the Mister Softee representative, said that he was pleased with the compromise that would allow his jingle to continue playing across the city.
He said that banning the jingle entirely would have devastated the business.
"If you're in your house and a truck drives by, maybe you hear it, maybe you don't," Mr. Conway said. "To me, this is a classic example of democracy in action."
Ed Skyler, the mayor's director of communications, said that the noise problem remained a priority for Mr. Bloomberg. "Noise is the No. 1 quality-of-life complaint in the city," he said. "And this comprehensive overhaul of the noise code would make the city more livable."
As for Mr. Softee, the city is big enough for both of them.
"The mayor always said he was open to negotiating aspects of the bill," Mr. Skyler said.
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