Quiet hours in New York, NY — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
New York City enforces strict noise rules under Administrative Code Title 24, Chapter 2 (the NYC Noise Code, rewritten by Local Law 113 of 2005). Sound exceeding 7 dB(A) above ambient between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or 10 dB(A) above ambient during the day, is unreasonable noise. Amplified residential music audible inside an adjacent dwelling unit with windows closed is prohibited at any hour. Enforcement is shared by DEP and NYPD; complaints go through 311.
Section 24-218 of the NYC Administrative Code prohibits any unreasonable noise. Under that section, sound (other than impulsive sound) is deemed unreasonable when it exceeds the ambient level by 7 dB(A) or more between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or by 10 dB(A) or more during daytime hours, measured anywhere within a receiving property or at a distance of 15 feet or more from the source on a public right-of-way. Impulsive sound exceeding the ambient by 15 dB(A) is unreasonable at any hour. The Noise Code uses an audibility ("plainly audible") standard for many residential complaints: amplified sound from a residential source that can be heard inside another dwelling unit with windows closed violates the code regardless of time of day. Construction noise is regulated separately under Sections 24-219 through 24-228 and is generally restricted to weekdays 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. except with an after-hours variance. Noise complaints are filed with NYC 311, and summonses are adjudicated at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).
Civil penalties under the NYC Noise Code are tiered. Residential first-offense fines typically start around $175, with commercial first-offense fines from $350 to $875. Vehicle muffler violations carry penalties from $800 to $2,625. Repeat violations escalate, and equipment can be seized for after-hours construction without a variance.
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