East Orange, NJ Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 184-1.A(1)(f) sets East Orange's core numeric noise standard: in a residential neighborhood, sound cannot exceed 65 decibels on the A-scale, read by the slow response setting of a sound level meter, measured either 25 feet from the source or at the next adjoining full property line, and that 65-decibel ceiling applies between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. During the overnight band, from 10:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the standard tightens further for sound played on any street, playground, school, park or common building area: it becomes unlawful if it can be heard by anyone other than the person operating the device, regardless of decibel reading.

Subsection A(6) defines 'decibel' with the same technical formula used throughout the chapter, a unit equal to 20 times the base-10 logarithm of the ratio between the measured sound pressure and a reference pressure of 20 micropascals, so enforcement officers apply one consistent measurement standard citywide. This decibel rule sits alongside, and uses the same 65-decibel/25-foot benchmark as, the boombox definition in § 184-1.A(4), meaning a portable speaker and a stationary residential noise source are judged by the same numeric yardstick even though they are separately described. A conviction is enforced through the two-warning, then-impoundment escalation in § 184-3 plus the general penalty in Chapter 1, Article II.