Neighbors have been fuming since Brooklyn’s Barclays Center opened last fall about Jay Z, Justin Bieber and other concert acts rocking their homes with noise — but it was a Dutch dance music show that got arena operators slapped with a hefty fine.
“Sensation,” a crew of world-touring DJs spinning dance and techno music, brought the noise so much during an Oct. 27 show that a city Department of Environmental Protection inspector testing noise levels in apartments at the 171-unit Newswalk condo complex a block away on Dean Street found sounds exceeded the city decibel limit of 62, hitting 74 on the meter.
Arena developer Forest City Ratner was slapped with a $3,200 ticket, but got it dismissed in January on a technicality as the city’s Environmental Control Board found the summons should’ve been written out to the Forest City’s subsidiary that runs the arena. A source said a new ticket has since been issued to the subsidiary for the same charges with a April hearing date pending.
“It was so loud that night that I had my headphones on watching TV — and I could still feel the vibration and hear the noise from the show,” said Wayne Bailey, who lives in the building.
DEP also tested sound there during a Jay-Z October show during his run that christened the new arena at Barclays and Justin Bieber’s November performance, but sound levels passed muster. Bailey, however, said the inspectors failed to test the levels for both performances when the performers were actually playing music.
“They tested for Jay-Z before he even began playing,” said Bailey, who added that Brooklyn Nets contests have not burdened nearby homes with noise.
A Forest City spokesman said, “We are aware that there have been some complaints about sound and we are looking into those.”