New York City noise rules: quiet hours, limits and how to complain

At a glance

Quiet hours: No single quiet-hours rule. Device noise limits tighten from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Who to call: Call 311 (212-639-9675 from outside NYC). Call 911 if a crowd looks dangerous.
The law: NYC Admin. Code §§ 24-218, 24-222, 24-235, 24-244. Read the code

Checked against official sources on 2026-10-16.

New York City’s noise rules are in Chapter 2 of Title 24 of the Administrative Code, usually called the Noise Code. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the NYPD share enforcement. There is no line in the code that says “quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.” for everything. Instead, different sources have their own rules, and several of them get stricter overnight.

The general rule

Section 24-218(a) says no person may make, continue, or cause or permit “any unreasonable noise.” That is the catch-all that covers a neighbor’s party or a television turned up too loud, even when nobody has a meter.

For noise from a device, § 24-218(b) puts numbers on “unreasonable.” Sound counts as unreasonable when it is:

7 dB(A) or more above the ambient sound level between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
10 dB(A) or more above ambient between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
15 dB(A) or more above ambient for impulsive sound (short bangs), at any hour

These are measured inside the receiving property, or 15 feet or more from the source on a public right-of-way. The limits are relative to background noise, so there is no single citywide decibel number. The decibel limits in this section do not apply to construction, which has its own rules.

Music and other sound equipment

Section 24-244(a) bars operating a “sound reproduction device” (a stereo, speaker and so on) in a way that creates unreasonable noise. The same section bans using speakers outside a business to advertise or draw attention to a sale. If the music is coming from a bar, restaurant or other business, DEP says the Noise Code has separate standards for commercial music.

Barking dogs and other animals

The code covers animal noise directly. Under § 24-235, a person in charge of an animal may not let it make noise that is plainly audible inside a residential property:

continuously for 10 minutes or more between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., or
continuously for 5 minutes or more between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

If you are logging a dog, note when each episode starts and stops. The 5- and 10-minute thresholds are about continuous noise.

Construction hours

Section 24-222 allows construction work on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Outside those hours a contractor needs an after-hours work authorization under § 24-223. One exception: the owner of a one- or two-family owner-occupied house may do alteration or repair work on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., as long as the house is more than 300 feet from a house of worship.

Lawn mowers and leaf blowers have their own hours under § 24-242: not before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (or sunset, whichever is later) on weekdays, and not before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Who to contact

For a loud neighbor, NYC311 sends complaints about loud music, parties, television, talking and furniture-dragging to the NYPD. Call 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK, 212-639-9675, from outside the city) or file online through the “Noise from Neighbor” page. NYC311 says officers will respond within 8 hours when they are not handling emergencies, and they can only act if the noise is still going when they arrive.

Call 911 instead for fighting, screaming, gunshots, or a large party or crowd that looks dangerous. NYC311 also lists free mediation for neighbor noise disputes.

If the neighbor is in your building, NYC311 suggests contacting your tenant association, building owner or super, since many buildings have their own noise rules in the lease or house rules.

Penalties

Penalties are civil fines set in Table I of § 24-257. A few examples for a first violation:

General unreasonable noise, § 24-218(a): $75 to $150
Animal noise, § 24-235: $50 to $175
Sound reproduction device, § 24-244(a): $440 to $1,750
After-hours construction, § 24-222: $875 to $3,500

Fines go up for second and third violations of the same provision by the same respondent.

Keeping a record

Because police can only act on noise they hear, a record of repeat incidents carries weight with a landlord, a building manager or a mediator. The Noisy Neighbor iPhone app logs each incident with the date, time, length and an estimated decibel reading, then turns the log into a PDF report or a complaint letter you can hand to your landlord. Phone readings are estimates and will not match a calibrated meter, but a dated log shows the pattern, and the 311 service request numbers you collect show that you reported each time.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-16. Laws change; check the official code before acting. Not legal advice.