City officials consider revised permit process for amplified music
TROY — When Lady Columbia decides to blow her horn from her perch above Monument Square, it better be before 9 p.m.
The Collar City has placed a stranglehold on playing live music in the evening air after City Hall received complaints from downtown residents and area businesses.
In the city, businesses are allowed to play amplified music by applying for a special permit. According to the city’s building code, residential properties can play music until 11 p.m. In the recent past, venues have obtained permits with instructions to cease music by 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and by 10 p.m. on school nights. But after recent complaints, local venues received emails to cut the cord by 9 p.m.
That’s caused problems for some restaurant and bar owners who have scheduled live bands to play further into the night. Last week, many of them gathered together to air their grievances at a meeting hosted at the Arts Center of the Capital Region on River Street.
“We are a city of culture and diversity, with a growing music scene that is very attractive to both performers and patrons,” said Dan Frament, former owner of Muddaddy Flats on 3rd Street. “As we work to overcome the damages of the pandemic and post-pandemic economy, we need to work together.”
More residents shared their stories through a Downtown Noise Complaints thread on Reddit. Several expressed their support for live music, adding that the experience enhances the city’s nightlife. Others said people who live downtown should expect to live with noise but agreed that there should be a compromise.
“The problem is, there are a few businesses downtown that are not being good neighbors, and it’s ruining it for everyone,” stated one author, describing competing events on Monument Square as a “devil’s cacophony.”
“The rest of the Monument Square businesses just need to act like adults and work together to come up with a schedule so they’re not playing over the top of each other every weekend in a devil’s cacophony. After 9, just reduce the decibel level or require it to be acoustic.”
Troy celebrated Summerfest on Friday night. From Monument Square, a portion of Broadway was closed to allow restaurants to set up tables and entertainment in the street. One band took to playing a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right,” as a thumb to the nose at City Hall.
The city reportedly plans to revise its permit process for next year. It could take a note from Austin, Texas. In the city that calls itself the “Live Music Capital of the World,” amplified music is capped at 75 decibels until 10 p.m. Afterward, amplified sound must “not be audible beyond the property line.”
“I’m sure, with an open mind and a willing heart, we can find compromises that will allow businesses and residents to enjoy the downtown community,” Frament said. “Let’s work through this. Let us be the example for others to follow.”
