Hackensack, NJ Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 112-8 governs sound production devices generally, meaning any musical instrument, loudspeaker, radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address system or amplifying equipment. It bars operating one so that the sound crossing a property line raises total sound levels above the neighborhood residual sound level by more than the increase set out in Table IV, measured inside the complainant's residence using a "C"-weighted, fast-response sound level meter under the § 112-6B protocol. , widening to 6 dB(C) at all other times, so the code tolerates less added noise overnight than during the day.

Section 112-9F targets the more common street-level complaint: self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound devices played on a public space or public right-of-way. that distance tightens to 25 feet. Because "plainly audible" only requires an officer to detect the sound with unaided hearing, this provision does not require a sound level meter, letting a Noise Control Investigator, not just a certified Noise Control Officer, enforce it in the field. Construction and demolition equipment and emergency work are exempt from these device-based rules, but everything else, from a park speaker to a portable radio on a stoop, falls under one or the other section depending on whether it crosses into a residence or stays in public space.