Hempstead, NY Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Chapter 144, Article II fixes two decibel tables. Table I is the limiting noise spectrum for transient noise (duration of one minute or less), running from 92 decibels at the 63 cycles-per-second octave band down to 52 decibels at 8,000 cycles per second, with intermediate ceilings of 87, 79, 72, 66, 60 and 54 decibels at the 125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 bands. Table II is the limiting spectrum for steady noise (duration exceeding one minute), set lower across the same seven bands, from 72 decibels at 63 cycles per second down to 32 decibels at 8,000 cycles per second.

, the limits of Table I hereinbefore set forth shall apply to transient noises having a duration in excess of 12 seconds. " That means a brief nighttime noise is captured by the numeric limit twice as fast as the same noise during the day. Measurement practice is fixed by § 144-6: readings are taken at an altitude not exceeding 100 feet above sea level, vehicle-source noise is measured at least 100 feet from the vehicle's center line, and machinery noise on private property is measured at the property line.

These are the only fixed decibel figures anywhere in the Town's noise chapter; the separate general-prohibitions section, § 144-3, is written around specific banned activities and time windows rather than a decibel meter reading.