Hi all,
I am in a situation that has unfortunately become a lot worse so I am hoping to get the best legal advice. To be honest, any advice in this situation is helpful.
I recently rented an apartment in NYC. It's my first apartment living by myself without roommates in the city so it's a major accomplishment. I've been living in the apartment for about seven months. Within my third to fourth month of living in the apartment I noticed a strange yet strong vibrating sound coming from the apartment above me. Living in an apartment building I completely understand and am willing to deal with the occasional noisy atmosphere, however, the excessive noise consistently occurs against the wall and ceiling every minute and a half between the hours of 11PM in the evening to 7AM in the morning. To clarify, this vibrating sounds like a cell phone vibrating on a hard surface only much louder and without stop from late in the evening to early in the morning. This not only effects my sleep but my quality of life.
I have tried to remedy the situation by:
1) Initially reaching out to my neighbor (a woman and her adult daughter in the studio above me). When I brought this to their attention, they claimed that they weren't sure if it might have be a fan but were cordial and would move it off of the floor. I heard them move things around and the noise stopped. A few nights later the noise began again. Once again, I went upstairs and knocked on their door, this time no one answered though I knew they were home as I could hear foot steps and movement above me. Please keep in mind I already started a log of how often the noise occurs.
2) I decided to speak with the super since I kept missing my neighbor or they wouldn't answer the door. I knew that he would speak to them. A week later, still hearing this odd noise, I checked in with my super. He spoke with them and they claimed that they were not making any noise. Odd considering what happened the first time I brought this
to my neighbor's attention.... I then asked my super if there was a possibility that I could be wrong and maybe....just maybe, the noise was coming from somewhere else...? I was sure it was coming from upstairs but I was open to suggestions. He looked and said there are no oddities between the walls and ceiling and he agreed that it is undoubtedly coming from above....duh, of course. He once again reached out to them but the sound did not go away.
3) As the weather warmed up during the summer, I became more aware of the sound and began reaching out to my neighbors around me excluding the one above me. I asked them if they heard this noise in the evening (sleep deprivation was getting to me) or if they themselves have something on the wall/floor/etc. Soon after, I had a breakthrough when my next door neighbor mentioned that he also hears a vibrating noise at night. The sound is faint to him from his apartment but he was sure it was coming from a wall he shares with me. One evening he helped me identify where the sound was coming (once again from the apartment directly above me). He added that it may be a floor AC/fan unit.
4) The following day I called the apartment management company. They were very understanding and looked into it. First by calling all of the apartments around me to ween out the possibilities. The noise stopped for a few days, but returned soon after. I continued to document the occurrences and notified the management company as they requested when I heard the noise.
This take us to about a week before today. Again, I wouldn't care for the usual foot steps, TV noise, etc...but a vibration generating from the ceiling every minute and a half to two minutes from 11PM to 7AM is exhausting. The weather has been quite sparatic in NYC and I had a few random nights of hearing this noise. One night, unfortunately due to lack of sleep (and I will admit it, it was not my best hour) I became the broom lady and took to banging on the ceiling. The noise stopped shortly after and it stopped for a couple days. Last night the noise returned and I of course sleep deprived and it being 3am in the morning banged on the ceiling again. The noise did not stop and I was met with a forceful stomp from above. Fair enough - I could of handled that better. The noise continued until 7AM this morning. I doubt at this point as to whether I would have a cordial conversation with my neighbor above me.
I decided to send another email and left a voicemail message with the management company. Reviewing my lease there is a quiet and peace policy however I'm not sure if this issue applies. I would hate to move out over this and before that, I want weigh my options - this is a complicated issue.
I want to look at having the apartment above me carpeted or having the floor properly insulated. Also, I'm not sure but if it should come to me moving whether I could be let out of my lease or moved to a different apartment in the building. Again, because this is a complicated issue I've already spent a few dollars (no big deal) on getting a white noise machine and ear buds, etc...but overall my questions are:
Where do I draw the line when it's effecting my sleep?
What is it going to take to get this issue resolved before I finally have to move out?
Can this be handled legally?
Please help! Thank you.
I am in a situation that has unfortunately become a lot worse so I am hoping to get the best legal advice. To be honest, any advice in this situation is helpful.
I recently rented an apartment in NYC. It's my first apartment living by myself without roommates in the city so it's a major accomplishment. I've been living in the apartment for about seven months. Within my third to fourth month of living in the apartment I noticed a strange yet strong vibrating sound coming from the apartment above me. Living in an apartment building I completely understand and am willing to deal with the occasional noisy atmosphere, however, the excessive noise consistently occurs against the wall and ceiling every minute and a half between the hours of 11PM in the evening to 7AM in the morning. To clarify, this vibrating sounds like a cell phone vibrating on a hard surface only much louder and without stop from late in the evening to early in the morning. This not only effects my sleep but my quality of life.
I have tried to remedy the situation by:
1) Initially reaching out to my neighbor (a woman and her adult daughter in the studio above me). When I brought this to their attention, they claimed that they weren't sure if it might have be a fan but were cordial and would move it off of the floor. I heard them move things around and the noise stopped. A few nights later the noise began again. Once again, I went upstairs and knocked on their door, this time no one answered though I knew they were home as I could hear foot steps and movement above me. Please keep in mind I already started a log of how often the noise occurs.
2) I decided to speak with the super since I kept missing my neighbor or they wouldn't answer the door. I knew that he would speak to them. A week later, still hearing this odd noise, I checked in with my super. He spoke with them and they claimed that they were not making any noise. Odd considering what happened the first time I brought this
to my neighbor's attention.... I then asked my super if there was a possibility that I could be wrong and maybe....just maybe, the noise was coming from somewhere else...? I was sure it was coming from upstairs but I was open to suggestions. He looked and said there are no oddities between the walls and ceiling and he agreed that it is undoubtedly coming from above....duh, of course. He once again reached out to them but the sound did not go away.
3) As the weather warmed up during the summer, I became more aware of the sound and began reaching out to my neighbors around me excluding the one above me. I asked them if they heard this noise in the evening (sleep deprivation was getting to me) or if they themselves have something on the wall/floor/etc. Soon after, I had a breakthrough when my next door neighbor mentioned that he also hears a vibrating noise at night. The sound is faint to him from his apartment but he was sure it was coming from a wall he shares with me. One evening he helped me identify where the sound was coming (once again from the apartment directly above me). He added that it may be a floor AC/fan unit.
4) The following day I called the apartment management company. They were very understanding and looked into it. First by calling all of the apartments around me to ween out the possibilities. The noise stopped for a few days, but returned soon after. I continued to document the occurrences and notified the management company as they requested when I heard the noise.
This take us to about a week before today. Again, I wouldn't care for the usual foot steps, TV noise, etc...but a vibration generating from the ceiling every minute and a half to two minutes from 11PM to 7AM is exhausting. The weather has been quite sparatic in NYC and I had a few random nights of hearing this noise. One night, unfortunately due to lack of sleep (and I will admit it, it was not my best hour) I became the broom lady and took to banging on the ceiling. The noise stopped shortly after and it stopped for a couple days. Last night the noise returned and I of course sleep deprived and it being 3am in the morning banged on the ceiling again. The noise did not stop and I was met with a forceful stomp from above. Fair enough - I could of handled that better. The noise continued until 7AM this morning. I doubt at this point as to whether I would have a cordial conversation with my neighbor above me.
I decided to send another email and left a voicemail message with the management company. Reviewing my lease there is a quiet and peace policy however I'm not sure if this issue applies. I would hate to move out over this and before that, I want weigh my options - this is a complicated issue.
I want to look at having the apartment above me carpeted or having the floor properly insulated. Also, I'm not sure but if it should come to me moving whether I could be let out of my lease or moved to a different apartment in the building. Again, because this is a complicated issue I've already spent a few dollars (no big deal) on getting a white noise machine and ear buds, etc...but overall my questions are:
Where do I draw the line when it's effecting my sleep?
What is it going to take to get this issue resolved before I finally have to move out?
Can this be handled legally?
Please help! Thank you.
Quiet Enjoyment: Noise and Vibration from an Upstairs Apartment
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