Too Noisy In Mountaindale? Give Us a Break

Kelsey Performing Live At Open Mic

Upon arriving home today I found a note on my door inviting me to a meeting on Sunday if I was concerned about noise on the Main Street here in Mountaindale...if it were not for the fact that I was already aware that some woeful citizen has been beating drums at city hall, filing numerous complaints about the loud noise in front of our local restaurant bar, "The Mountaindale Inn" it would hve come as a great surprise to me.  My first response to the noise complaints is, "someone needs to get a real life" and let people here in our community make a living...quite a feat in these hard economic times we live in.  My second thought is, "Who is complaining when MOST OF THE CITIZENS in the bustling downtown area of Mountaindale actually frequent Ed's bar, and a couple of our citizens (not including the owner) are dependent upon "The Mountaindale Inn" and its customer base to earn a living.

Ed's establishment first and foremost is a licensed bar in a commercial area.  Secondly, as a general rule, it is not a loud nor rambuctious place...people come in, order a pie or a great burger (Ed does make some great burgers) have a couple of beers, say hello to friends and head home.  For a lot of us, home is a walk of less than three hundred feet in one direction or the other. 

The loudest night of the week is Wednesday nights when the "Mountaindale Inn's Open Mic Night" plays host to a lot of our local musical talent...this quiet bar on some Wednesday nights gets a real crowd, and those in attendance hear some really great music. If you go from the school house on Main Street down to Old Post Hill Road on Main Street, almost all the citizens who live (not work) downtown in our small hamlet where in Ed's restaurant bar having a good time, listening to music, talking (both inside and out...you have to smoke outside) and eating some really good food.  

Life and business is not conducted in a vacuum...people are going to make noise.  Every time a loud car or a motorcycle goes by the alarm on my own car is set off.  I live above a community space in the hamlet, and when events are held there, I hear them.  There are some nights when kids are playing basketball up on the court by the train station, or just hanging out in the alley way beside my bedroom window and I hear them.  You cannot own a restaurant/bar, cannot hold and open mic night, cannot stand outside any place in this small hamlet without someone hearing you...it is part of life, and a part of the fabric of the community.

In the entire time I have lived in this community. there have not been any fights outside of Ed's place, there have not been any loud screaming matches going on.  There have been people talking, telling jokes, laughing, but nothing out of the ordinary...in fact, when I found out about the first noise complaint, downloaded a decimal meter app to my phone to check the noise levels the next week at Open Mic.  The loudest readings were when various cars and trucks drove by (not stopping, driving by).  For the most part, the readings were all under 60 decibals, with an occassion momentary upswing if the door openned and a small group were exiting the place to enjoy a smoke, or to say their goodbyes before heading home.

For this, the one place in our hamlet where there are serious signs of life is being harrassed?  Sure if the police came by and got their meters out they would find the noise in and around the "Mountaindale Inn" is within allowable limits.  Sure they would find patrons who were behaving themselves, and also sure they would on a busy Wednesday night find most of the residents of downtown Mountaindale in the bar...working, playing music, or having a good time.  Maybe those making the complaints should try letting their hair down a bit and coming in and having a good time.

For those insisting on being whiners, Ed has graciously schedule a meeting this Sunday, August 5th from 12:00-1PM to hear complaints in the hopes of finding ways to appease those few unhappy campers who seem intent on A) ruining a fun time that many here in the community enjoy, and B) creating an untenable situation for Ed Zukowitz that could potentially see him having to close down after being here for over 23 years.  You can also call Ed directly at (845)434-1023 if Sunday's meeting time is inconvenient to you.

One last thought...I would think that those making these noise complaints would realize that the fine officers of the Fallsburg Police Department, various employees of the town of Fallsburg have better things to do than investigate complaints meant to do nothing more than harrass one of Mountaindale's few businesses, a business that has been here now for some 23.