A man who has been using a van outfitted with approximately 80 speakers to blare loud music and host impromptu parties near Willets Point in Queens was arrested on Saturday.
According to the 110th Precinct Community Affairs Unit, the precinct has been getting several 311 noise complaints and the loud noise has been an “ongoing issue.” On June 18 at approximately 10:40 p.m., officers received several calls from surrounding precincts and staff at Citi Field about the music.
Officers responded to the scene at the intersection of 35th Avenue and 127th Street and found a crowd of about 40 people gathered outside of a white van with dozens of speakers installed in the back, according to a criminal complaint.
An officer who approached the vehicle said the doors and windows of his police vehicle were vibrating from the noise and that his “ears began ringing,” the complaint read.
The owner of the van, 47-year-old Nelson Hidalgo, of South Richmond Hill, was seated in the passenger seat of the vehicle, adjusting the sound controls. The commercial speakers ranged from 8 inches to 14 inches and the van also included “several output amplifiers and sound meter devices … causing unreasonable noise, public inconvenience and annoyance,” according to the complaint.
The speakers were also blocking the view to the rear window.
Hidalgo told the officer that he spent thousands of dollars on outfitting his van with the speakers.
“The vehicle is mine. I spent over $20,000 on this equipment,” Hidalgo said. “I know it’s illegal but it’s the weekend. How come I don’t get a ticket this time? I usually get a ticket or it gets thrown out or I pay a little fee.”
Hidalgo was charged with second-degree criminal nuisance, general noise prohibition, disorderly conduct and equipment of motor vehicles obstructing driver’s view. He was arraigned on June 19 and is expected to be back in court on Aug. 1.
Deputy Inspector Christopher Manson, the 110th Precinct’s commanding officer, tweeted a picture of the van with the caption, “This is the truck that has been playing the LOUD music in the junk yards at night. The owner is now in our cell.”
More than a dozen people, including residents from Whitestone and College Point, thanked the inspector for making the arrest.
This is the truck that has been playing the LOUD music in the junk yards at night. The owner is now in our cell. pic.twitter.com/waxheCW8qd
— NYPD 110th Precinct (@NYPD110Pct) June 19, 2016
thank you great job he should be forced to sleep with loud head phones
— Andy (@deerman118) June 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/ScottJesolosky/status/744529145800056832
Great work. Please don't stop. There are more like him who come to the Marina and junkyards. I've seen even bigger trucks.
— Tomaso Carretero (@tcny50) June 20, 2016
