New York City has noise cameras placed around the city that can fine people for excessive noise from their vehicles. Those cameras have generated $1.7 million in fines according to the New York Post.
What are noise cameras?
The noise camera program began in 2023 when state legislators passed the “Stop Spreading the Noise Act.”
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“Noise emissions from loud vehicle engines or mufflers can impinge on the quality of life in New York City,” a report from the NYC’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) read. “Some vehicle noise is so loud that it can even be a source of harmful public health impacts, such as sleep deprivation and hearing loss.”
If a vehicle’s sound reaches over 85 decibels, which is around the loudness of a lawn mower, the cameras will begin to record to capture the license plate.
The noises can range from anything like the muffler to music to excessive honking and the fines can range from $800-$2,500.
“Even in the city that doesn’t sleep, New Yorkers deserve some peace and quiet,” Councilman Keith Powers, a key sponsor of the legislation, told ABC7 when the legislation passed.
The 2024 law mandates at least five cameras in every borough by Sept. 30. However, additional cameras are not funded in the city’s latest budget.
What have people paid in fines?
The Post report shows that the cameras resulted in $2 million in fines over the last few years.
The program has issued more than 2,000 summonses, including more than $750,000 in fines, so far in 2025.
Of that $750,000, the agency has collected around $610,000.
The report from the DEP shows last year, a camera on W 41st St. near S Figueroa St. generated the most summonses at 375. That camera issued summonses on 23% of the days it was active.
The nine active cameras generated 651 summonses in 2023 and that number increased to 849 last year.
City Councilman Lincoln Restler, D-Brooklyn, told the Post his office paid for the latest camera.
“The only complaint I’ve gotten from constituents is that they want more [of the cameras] on their block,’’ Restler told The Post.
