Troy, NY Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

The quiet-hours rule in the City of Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, sits in § 201-4(P) of the Noise chapter adopted by the Troy City Council. It covers noise from parties, entertainment, music or social gatherings of any kind, whether public or private, coming from fraternities and sororities, dormitories, private clubs, meeting halls and private residences. Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 noon the following day, that noise cannot be heard inside any residence, regardless of whether the windows of that residence are open. At any other time, the noise is barred if it is unnecessary or unreasonable under the circumstances.

The test is audibility inside a home, not a meter reading at the property line. Whether the listener's windows are open or shut makes no difference, and the window runs through the morning as well as the night.

The wider noise standard in § 201-3 prohibits any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise that a reasonable person would not tolerate under the circumstances. Factors include the time of the day and night the noise occurs, its duration, whether it is recurrent, intermittent or constant, the proximity of the noise to residential sleeping facilities, and the nature and zoning of the area. Section 201-3(B) separately caps measured sound at lot lines by octave band, with a six-decibel reduction where a use adjoins a residential or transitional district. Section 201-2 exempts instruments used by a church, synagogue or school, and § 201-1(B) leaves the police department and other law enforcement agencies free to enforce the chapter.