Thanks to a new phone service, residents of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, can now complain about noise coming from their neighbors in Paterson. Frequent complaints from Fair Lawn residents about the persistent noise from Paterson prompted authorities to seek a solution. The idea for the phone line ar ose because the noise originates on the other side of the Passaic River, which separates the two cities in the northern part of the Garden State. The problem is that the police can’t do anything because the noise is outside their jurisdiction. According to residents, the noise comes from powerful sound systems in some bars and restaurants, vehicles, and residential buildings. “I was told it came from boomboxes, not just restaurants, and there’s not really anything to do about it,” Dawn Maurer, a Fair Lawn resident, said. “Does it bother me? Well, I go inside, but you definitely hear it.” Fair Lawn Mayor Cristina Cutrone is confident that the data will be helpful to Paterson so they can find a solution that benefits both cities. “We had no way of knowing when, how often, or which residents were calling. In other words, what part of the city were the complaints coming from?” Cutrone told NBC New York. “That’s why we wanted to find a better way to monitor how often this problem occurred and detect if there were any trends, specific times of year, or times of day.” In response to this problem, the City of Fair Lawn has established a hotline to collect data and analyze the true extent of noise complaints, forwarding calls to the Paterson Police Department. Neighbors like Maurer say it’s a start, but whether the noise will quiet down remains to be seen, or heard. “Listen, I think we all have to work together, not everything is just a local issue,” Maurer said. “This impacts families on both sides of the river, so we’re always open to helping with that.” To file a complaint on the hotline, call 201-777-6144. ...read more read less