Bryant Park is one of the most relaxing places in the city — but if you go into the subway station beneath it, bring your earplugs.
The platform for the F, V, B and D trains in the 42nd Street station below the park is the noisiest public place in the city, according to a new survey.
The train stop’s cacophony comes in at a deafening 93 decibels — as loud as standing next to a lawnmower, according to the group Hear the World.
“It does seem louder than any place in the city down here,” said Jonathan Murno, 44, who was recently waiting for a train at the station. “I think in New York you have to tune a lot of stuff out.”
The second-loudest spot in New York, barring places like nightclubs, concert venues and the runway at JFK, was not far from the noisiest subway station — the bus stop at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. The group said the noise there registered at 87 decibels.
Dr. Craig Kasper, the chief audiology officer of Audio Help Associates of Manhattan who serves as Hear the World’s New York expert, said people in these spots should take care to protect themselves.
“Once you reach anything over 85 decibels, you are really at risk,” he said.
The next-loudest places, according to the group, were along the West Side Highway, at 83 decibels; in the middle of Herald Square near Macy’s, at 78; in Times Square near the military recruitment center, at 76; and Union Square across from Whole Foods, at 74.
While Hear the World said it didn’t test the whole city, the places it did test were the subject of the most complaints to the group.
Hear the World is holding an event with free hearing screenings and a celebrity-photo gallery at Macy’s Herald Square from Jan. 6 to Jan. 19.
Kasper said that to protect yourself, you don’t need high-tech devices.
“We have wonderful earplugs built in, they are called our fingers,” he said.
He did advise people using MP3 players to ditch their earbuds.
“If we don’t have good sound-isolating earphones, ultimately we have to turn our volume up to compete,” he said. “And that is a real problem.”
Noisiest places in town:
1. 93 decibels: F, V, B, D platform, Bryant Park
2. 87 decibels: Corner of 42nd St. and Fifth Ave.
3. 83 decibels: West Side Highway
4. 78 decibels: Herald Square
5. 76 decibels: Times Square, near the military recruiting station
6. 74 decibels: Union Square, across from Whole Foods
7. 73 decibels: Grand Central Terminal on the main concourse at rush hour
8. 72 decibels: Bryant Park, in the middle of the park