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City ready to crack down on noise

By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer

First published: Wednesday, May 3, 2006

SCHENECTADY -- The City Council has a message for residents and business

owners who get too loud: pipe down or go to jail.

Lawmakers, grappling with ways to crack down on a bed and breakfast that

neighbors say is too noisy, plan to dramatically increase the penalties for

violating the city's noise ordinance.

A first-time violator will now face a maximum sentence of $250 and that

penalty can grow to $400 if the same person is found guilty of a second

violation within a year.

The penalty gets even heavier for anyone convicted of a third violation

within two years: a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail.

If adopted by the council, the beefed-up ordinance would also allow

neighbors to file sworn statements against the noisy people next door,

eliminating the need for the police to arrive in time to hear a violation.

The ordinance is one of two things the council discussed Monday night as

they struggled with ways to answer residents' complaints about the Union

Street Bed and Breakfast, a locale for weekend sex parties that critics say

are disruptive and tarnish the image of their leafy neighborhood.

B&B owner Bob Alexson hosts weekend parties for swingers. He lives at the

inn, but the city believes they can regulate his business because he charges

a fee to attend the sex parties.

The council's Planning and Development Committee considered an outright ban

on adult businesses that charge money to attend sex parties. But after a

closed-door session with the city's attorneys, the council postponed a vote

on a ban so Assistant Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden can resolve

legal questions.

"They have questions that they want answered," Van Norden said.

Dana Swalla, a Phoenix Avenue resident whose complaints about the inn forced

the city to tackle the matter, said she was frustrated no vote was taken on

the ban.

"How many times do I have to keep coming back?" Swalla asked as she left the

meeting.

But, she added, "If all the deliberations get rid of the business, it will

be worth it in the end."

The city should be ready for a legal challenge if it goes forward with a

ban, said Brendan Tully, Alexson's attorney.

Any legislation that is "specifically targeted at putting one member of the

community out of business raises constitutional issues," Tully said.

"We'll be prepared to fight it to its conclusion and we hope the city of

Schenectady does what's right and resists the puritanical forces and

remembers that nobody at the Union Street Bed and Breakfast has committed a

crime," he said. "What goes on behind closed doors is not the purview of

government."

Mike Goodwin can be reached at 454-5465 or by e-mail at

mgoodwin@timesunion.com.