North Hempstead, NY Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Town Code § 38-3B(1)(a)[2] makes it a violation to operate a radio, sound amplifier or similar device in or on a motor vehicle on a public right-of-way or public space when the sound creates a "noise disruption," defined in § 38-2 as sound that interferes with the reasonable and normal activities of persons of normal sensitivities, measured at approximately 50 feet from the vehicle. The same standard covers amplified sound coming from a boat on public waters.

Separately, § 38-3B(8) targets mechanical vehicle noise: any automobile, motorcycle, streetcar or other vehicle that is so out of repair, so loaded, or operated in a manner that creates loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling or other noise, or any repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing of a motor vehicle, motorcycle or motorboat that creates a noise disruption across a residential property line or within a noise-sensitive zone, is prohibited between 7:00 p.m. the previous day and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and at any time on weekends or holidays. That reaches a defective or modified muffler, since § 38-2 defines a "muffler or sound dissipative device" as the device that abates the sound of an internal combustion engine's escaping gases, and running an engine with that device removed or bypassed falls within the loud-and-unnecessary-noise standard.

Enforcement runs through the noise-disturbance factors in § 38-3A(2), which weigh volume, proximity to residential sleeping areas, time of night, and whether the sound is recurrent, when officers assess whether a complaint rises to a violation.