| Author | Message | ||
     greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9300 Registered: 5-2001  |
A guy 3 doors down has meetings at his house every Wed. night. He & his wife are very quiet people; never hear a peep from them. Their rude guests make up for it, tho. I've been battling with these people for 9 years. They are the laziest bunch of mofos you'd ever want to meet. They'll park across someone's driveway rather than walk 4 houses down. A couple years ago, I asked one to move her car from across my next door neighbor's driveway and she actually told me to mind my business. We exchanged some pleasantries, after which she moved her car. When the meeting ends, they stand outside on the sidewalk talking really, really, really loudly for half an hour. Getting in and out of cars, engines running, lights on. It's after 10p on a school night. Every single week this happens. Tonight, 3 stood under our window for half an hour, getting louder and louder. After 30 minutes with no sign of them leaving, TS went out and asked them nicely to quiet down. They did for about 30 seconds. Then, they started again. I went out and said "you know, there's a coffee shop you can go to if you want to talk. Your conversation is quite loud." One woman apologized. Another decided to be an orifice. Starts yelling at me. What's loud? My talking? Yes, it is. There are children in the houses around you and other people have to get up in the morning. Go inside and close your window. You are a guest in this neighborhood and I don't think that your host would appreciate your treating the neighborhood with disrespect. Call the cops if you don't like it. So, I did. She must not have thought I was serious, because when I took the cordless where she could see me and placed the call, they all finally got in their cars and drove away. I think it is ludicrous that I have to call MPD to get a bunch of grown women to stop hanging out in the street, talking at the top of their lungs. This weekend, I am going to knock on the neighbor's door and talk to him. Next Wednesday, I'm setting the sprinklers to run from 10p - 11p. | ||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1765 Registered: 1-2006  |
Probably a church group.  J.B. | ||
| combustion Citizen Username: Spontaneous Post Number: 482 Registered: 4-2006  |
Nine years!!! OMG, I would have snapped years ago. You must be a saint to have put up with this for so long. | ||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1766 Registered: 1-2006 |
Stab them 25 times. It's the new "call the cops." J.B. | ||
| Glock 17 Citizen Username: Glock17 Post Number: 1860 Registered: 7-2005  |
Sounds like our street wehn the Seton Hall students are around. ooh what's this i hear about night baseball...that should make things better  | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9303 Registered: 5-2001 |
JB- you are actually right. He's some kind of minister-type. This must be the women's group, because that's all we ever see. When he has all the families over and the little kids are running around the yard, they are actually quieter than these freakin' women. | ||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1769 Registered: 1-2006 |
Assertiveness training?  J.B. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9305 Registered: 5-2001 |
For me or for them? If I got any more assertive, I'd be in jail. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 1007 Registered: 8-2005 |
Please let us know how the 'talk' works out. | ||
| Maplewoody Citizen Username: Maplewoody Post Number: 1329 Registered: 5-2001  |
Greentree, You should have gotten your garden hose out and sprayed your hedges, gardens and the loud women. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9309 Registered: 5-2001 |
Actually - they leave his house around 10p like clockwork. I'll set the sprinklers to go off around 10:10p. | ||
| S.L.K. 2.0 Citizen Username: Scrotisloknows Post Number: 1967 Registered: 10-2005  |
Greentree- I hear you and I can really appreciate what you are going through. My neighbors across the street are similar. Every Thursday night it seems like a big family kid pickup/dropoff convention. Beeping horns, hanging out and chatting, etc.... In fairness they have improved, although sometimes the kids are loud. Last summer I use to try and ignore it, this summer, I have no problem going outside and telling them to STFU in a nice way....they are learning that around 8PM both my kids go to bed and they need to take it somewhere else... And the white trash problem I had right next door finally went away. After a bunch of us came together and confronted them they have resolved the problem. It appears that a couple of kids were temporailly staying with them and all their Union friends were coming to hang out. They have moved out since and all is quiet again. Keep doing what your doing, but whatever you do don't ignore it because it will only get worse. I've learned that if your neighbor even remotely thinks you are paying attention they will start respecting your space. -SLK | ||
| doulamomma Citizen Username: Doulamomma Post Number: 1799 Registered: 3-2002 |
Love the sprinkler idea! Hopefully they won't reappear as the weather gets colder...hmm, sound activated spring guns are not legal... | ||
| Soparents Supporter Username: Soparents Post Number: 2849 Registered: 5-2005  |
1) Sprinklers (always good to maintain your lawn greentree - you are just showing caring.) 2) Open the windows and let the sound of the exorcist or satanic chanting be heard loud and clear 3) Have friends round on the Tuesday night and let them have a loud conversation about the merits of banana throwing outside their windows. 4) Join them outside your window and ask them for donations to whatever off the wall cause you feel like, or engage them in a discussion about the real meaning of life. No, I mean the REAL one (whatever reason they give, keep pushing them for the real one.) | ||
| Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 1888 Registered: 9-2004  |
Invite these guys over between 10-11 pm. That may do the trick!  | ||
| Tuxedo Citizen Username: Tuxedo Post Number: 115 Registered: 7-2004 |
Sprinklers is BRILLIANT, totally BRILLIANT. | ||
| Crazy_quilter Citizen Username: Crazy_quilter Post Number: 411 Registered: 2-2005 |
you could ask if they are a gay book group, because you are looking to join one. | ||
| Dave Supporter Username: Dave  Post Number: 10658 Registered: 4-1997  |
Coordinate with other neighbors so you simultaneously emerge to berate them. | ||
| MeAndTheBoys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 4472 Registered: 12-2004  |
Pour your chamber pot on their heads. Ooops, sorry, didn't realize you were there. | ||
| mlj Citizen Username: Mlj Post Number: 423 Registered: 6-2001 |
Talking with the neighbor initially would have been the best course of action. However I do love the idea of spraying them with the hose and/or sprinklers. Loud satanic chanting is also a splendid idea. | ||
| Cynicalgirl Citizen Username: Cynicalgirl Post Number: 3145 Registered: 9-2003  |
I just reread, and given your actual neighbor is quiet and nice, and a minister, I should think talking to him would do the trick. He should address his mini-congregation on the golden rule, so to speak. | ||
| Cougar86 Citizen Username: Cougar86 Post Number: 44 Registered: 3-2006 |
When they start talking go outside walk right up to them and join their conversation referencing things they were discussing that you could hear. | ||
| Hoops Citizen Username: Hoops Post Number: 2024 Registered: 10-2004  |
Cougar86 has the best idea. Wait for them just a couple of times and act like you know it all. (We know you do but they should just feel that you are a busybody). But dont make sense, take every side and filibuster. Or just come out holding a can of Bud and have 3 more in your pockets. | ||
| Rosiegirl Citizen Username: Rosiegirl Post Number: 49 Registered: 5-2006  |
OMG Greentree.....I thought DH and I were the only ones on the block bothered by "Council Meetings". I hate Wednesday nights. Their guests are rude, selfish and inconsiderate. They are SOOOO loud!!! They park up and down both sides of the street, often a few feet away from the curb. With the way some people fly down the street, it is very scary trying to get to my house on Wed. nites. One night a few years ago, I think they blocked part of our driveway. WTF!!!! You don't park in front of a strangers house and block the driveway!! Was it my imagination, or was someone banging on what sounded like bongos last night? I thought I was going crazy trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. Wed. night....I should have known. | ||
| Walker Citizen Username: Fester Post Number: 270 Registered: 4-2003  |
If these people are this inconsiderate do not even both asking them to be quiet next time just call the police and do it every time they decided to be inconsiderate, I would also ask the police to go and talk to the host of the meetings about his guests behavior. | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3791 Registered: 5-2001  |
If the sprinklers don't do the trick, try those outdoor bug foggers. They're good for removing lots of pests. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1116 Registered: 3-2006  |
Ask all your neighborhood friends to park up and down the block at 7:30 on Wednesdays for a couple of weeks. Block your own driveways. Make them take their conversations elsewhere. I think you should do that whether or not you have a conversation with the host. I think they will just stand out of range of the sprinklers---they are not worth the extra$ tacked on to your waterbill. Calli | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2833 Registered: 8-2003  |
GT - I know both you and Rosiegirl and let me tell you...you guys can take them on, no problem!!  As Cynicalgirl suggests, I would think that the neighbors would be sympathetic and would kindly ask their guests to leave quietly and not linger/loiter. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9319 Registered: 5-2001 |
Well, I'm hoping that Cyn is right. Rosie - if you don't see tham block your driveway in time to make them move, call MPD. They will come and, unfortunately, go knock on the door and give them a chance to move the car. I'd rather that they just tow them right away. I've never heard drums. There was a really sad situation a few years back. The neighbor's only child was killed in a car accident. The congregants came to observe the 7 day morning period and stayed there 24/7. Unfortunately, the congregants double-parked; they had a soundsystem outside going on all night long and the people were just rude, rude, rude. I was outside raking one day and a bunch of people with NY plates pulled up next to me, got out of the car and tossed a bag of Burger King debris at my feet. Out of respect for the family and what they were going thru, I did not unleash full-throttle Greenetree on them. But, the block was very tense for the week. We alternated between taking food over and calling the cops to get them to move cars and turn the sound system down at 3am. I had knocked on the door a couple times to ask nicely, but the family (of course) did not answer the door and the congregants didn't care. I like Calli's idea! The other thing about calling MPD right away is that I think it is an incredible waste of their time and resources to have to come tell a bunch of 40+ y/o grown women to go home. Does Maplewood have loitering laws? Rosie - maybe we should poll the other neighbors. I'd like to let them know that it's not just me. | ||
| Rosiegirl Citizen Username: Rosiegirl Post Number: 50 Registered: 5-2006 |
GT - I, too, am curious what the other neighbors opinions are. As irritated as I am with the way their guests behave themselves, I have always hestitated calling the MPD b/c I have a feeling they are not aware of their guests' behavior outside of their house. They are so quiet the rest of the week, I often wonder if anybody is even home. | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1117 Registered: 3-2006 |
I think I have a corner on the rude neighbor market. I have found that it is really best to adopt an attitude of armed truce, if not peaceful co- existence.I won't bore you here with the escapades of "Franco and the Screaming Parrots" who hauled me into court because the leaves of my sugar maple fall into his pool, but I will mention the "physicians" who live next door. They are very quiet---they have 3 children who I rarely see during daylight hours (in fact I hardly ever see any of them during the daytime--- I call them the "undead")and they (illegally)converted their 2 car garage and a backyard shed to living space to accomodate the constant parade of "relatives."I never know (and I suspect, nor does the fire marshall)at any given time, just how many people are in that 5 bedroom house. Usually they are inoffensive, but the man of the house has managed to really aggravate me on a number of occasions. A few years ago I had a wonder patch of strawberries prolifically growing on the side between our two houses. I'd leave in the morning knowing that there would be ripe succulent strawberries ready for the plucking. Ineveitably when I'd come home from work, the reddest, most delectable were gone. One morning, as I was about to bring the garbage cans back into the garage, I heard a telltale rustling in the strawberry patch. I grabed a pair of shears and pounced---expecting to surprise a groundhog. Well, it was a hog, alright---there, with berry juice running down his chubby chin, was the doctor from next door! I looked at him , agape, for a moment as he continued to munch---he couldn't talk with his mouthful of my berries. I said: "Enjoy. I hope you washed them off well---all the neighborhood cats use the sandy soil there as an outhouse." Then there was the time I had a running dispute with the newspaper people. I ranted that I had not been getting my paper. They swore it had been delivered. I asked them to please place it on the porch by the front door.It still didn't solve the problem.Then, I was home sick one day and looked out to see the paper on the porch. I smiled. Finally, being the squeaky wheel paid off. I took a shower and after getting out, I heard a noise on the porch. I glanced out just in time to see my neighbor's retreating back going down the walk, while rifling through MY newspaper. I cancelled it that day. I don't know where he gets his paper now. Calli | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 5451 Registered: 9-2001  |
"Does Maplewood have loitering laws?" Yes, they damn sure do!!! The town also has litter and noise ordinances as well to deal with your problem. But why bother with something as easy as enforcing the laws Greenetree? FWIW, don't do what my neighbors did a few blocks down. They called Vic DeLuca and arranged to post "NO STOPPING - NO STANDING" signs on Elmwood and other nearby streets. His solution was like swatting an fly with shotgun... Sorry, I couldn't resist reminding you and others of the stupidity of a solution like this... Seriously, do the intelligent thing and just call the police. Let them enforce the ordinances already on the books to deal with these common sense annoyances. Good luck... | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9323 Registered: 5-2001 |
I suppose that we are lucky that it is the neighbor's guests and not the neighbors themselves. But to have a regular, large, loud gathering in a home on a private residential block is inconsiderate. Rosie hits the nail on the head, tho. There is no reason to pick a fight with the neighbors. I also suspect that they are unaware. But it wouldn't be the neighbor we'd be calling the cops on, it would be the loud loiterers. When I called last night, I gave my address and the address of the house they standing in front of. The house next door to them was vacant for over a year. The new owners moved in last weekend and have an infant. It will be interesting to see what they think about living next door to all of this. | ||
| Brett Citizen Username: Bmalibashksa Post Number: 2664 Registered: 7-2003 |
I'll just post here, greetrees posts always get more attention. A very nice family used to live in the apartment in front of us, one of her sons was sent to Iraq, and they decided to leave their other son with the apartment and move to Sea Girt. Well the son had two friends move in to help pay the bills (it’s a 2 BR). The first party that had went on till 5:30. I went over the next day and asked if they could kill the music around midnight, just because we could hear it pretty well all night (we share a wall). Well they did kill the music. The second party (on a TUESDAY) the music died at around 10pm, the party went on till after 3 am. So I grabbed a 6 pack went over and chatted with the guys on the balcony. Basically that 3:00 am was crazy on a week night, what can we do to figure this out. Saturday on the way to the city, a friend of theirs was peeing on the front lawn, I made a loud enough comment that every heard. Last night, they were walking a 9 month old Pitt Bull. A bunch of guys partying every night is not going to be able to reasonable raise a dog. Today they were walking him with a rope instead of a leash. I really hope I don’t have to move, we need 10 more months before we can get a house. | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 2328 Registered: 10-2002  |
I think that your plan to talk to the neighbor this weekend is a good one. When you do, I would mention that if the ladies disturb you again, your plan is to walk right past the ladies and knock on his door and ask him to deal with them because your polite attempts are unfortunately not getting anywhere and that although you have involved the Maplewood Police before, that you prefer not to have to tie up police resources to have to deal with his friends each week. (The passing mention that you have not hesitated to call the police on them in the past may give him a little incentive.) Sounds like you have nice enough neighbors - perhaps they'll be embarrassed they are causing you and others such grief that they'll put pressure on their friends to curb themselves. | ||
| cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 1124 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'd first talk to the neighbor. Then, if the situation persisted, I'd call HIM when his guests were blocking my driveway and being noisy and ask him to deal with them. Every single time. Eventually, he'll get tired of it. I do like the sprinkler idea, too, though. Especially the one that rotates and throws a wide circular spray. I think that's brilliant! I hate to get the police involved for stupid, anti-social, egocentric acts by social idiots. But, when all else fails......... | ||
| Calliope Citizen Username: Calliope Post Number: 1120 Registered: 3-2006 |
Upon reflection, pouring cold water on them is good, but only a temporary solution, the local police? >sigh< a waste of resources. But these are weekly gatherings in a private home (do I smell "sleeper cell"?) Forget the local constabulary, CALL HOMELAND SECURITY!! In 5 years or so, they should have the problem solved! Calli then there is always the judicious application of yellow crime scene tape on the parking spaces and chalk body outlines on the street where they gather for their conversations | ||
| blackcat Citizen Username: Blackcat Post Number: 755 Registered: 6-2001 |
Make sure to put ketchup in the chalk outlines  | ||
| Glock 17 Citizen Username: Glock17 Post Number: 1861 Registered: 7-2005 |
Sit on your front porch/steps/stoop witha 40 oz and a baseball bat. | ||
| Mr. Big Poppa Citizen Username: Big_poppa Post Number: 868 Registered: 7-2004  |
I'll just post here, greetrees posts always get more attention. Is someone feeling posting envy???? |
