bigpoppanils Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 Fly Lifeby Tricia RomanoLicensed to DJDoes a New York DJ need a license?; Moby, Edie Falco, and Fahrenheit 9/11July 2nd, 2004 4:45 PMJust when you thought New York nightlife couldn't get any worse, it does. JEREMY RODRIGUEZ is perhaps the first person in the history of the world to get a ticket for DJ'ing. The Texas native was spinning on June 5 at Cash Checking, a new bar in Williamsburg, when police paid a visit to the venue. After spending considerable time speaking to one of the venue's employees, the police asked for the DJ's ID and then walked off with it for 40 minutes. When they returned, they handed him back his ID—with a pink slip of paper slyly folded underneath. It was a summons for Rodriguez, who had only been spinning for a short time before the cops' arrival, to appear in court on July 22 for "Operation of Sound Reproductive Device Without a Permit." The section of the New York City noise code cited, 10.108.23, says a police spokesperson, allows a violation to be given to a person operating "any sound production device in a public area, even if it's in a bar. If music can be heard from public sidewalk," then there can be a violation. However, it seems a bit strange to cite the DJ, not the bar. The NYPD spokesperson would only say, "I don't know the circumstances." Rodriguez, who is not the club's resident DJ, says that when he arrived on the corner of North 3rd Street and Kent Avenue and got out of his car, "I could hear the music, so it was kind of loud. The employee was there, so I thought it was OK." He said the employee had come over and turned the volume down a "significant" amount when the cops arrived. The owner, THOMAS SANDBICHLER, says, "The violation was given because we had the door open and the music spilled into the street. They thereby said we were operating amplified equipment on the street. That's not part of the license. It's a bullshit summons." The bar's already tallied up several violations, says Sandbichler. ("They give out tickets like candy," he says.) The visits are fueled by 311 calls, which may become more frequent citywide if the mayor's plan to overhaul the noise code goes through. (According to the mayor's office, noise ranks number one in complaints to the 311 line, and averages 1,000 calls a day.) While the mayor's proposing to do away with some provisions that are too vague (such as limiting the standard of judging a noise complaint as "unreasonable to a person of normal sensitivities"), other suggested changes may turn out to be more strict (such as throwing out the noise meter and going by the "plainly audible" standard). Wait, I'm deaf—that might work wonderfully! Meanwhile, Rodriguez, who just moved back to the States after six years in Barcelona, is probably wondering why in the hell he ever returned. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0427/flylife.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJGaryMatthews Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 yea thats retarded. the cop probably just either didnt know who the owner was or was just to lazy to look for him, so he saw the dj and just figured "i'll give the ticket to this guy, he looks like he's in charge"i hate cops a little bit more everyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklynzzfinest Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 It is the law though. I had to follow it and file for the permits and pay the $35 fee inorder to get my permit before I could use a amplified speaker system for a podeum.Dumb as all fucking hell, I agree, but ya gotta know your business, and know what you need to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJGaryMatthews Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 i agree with that. i just dont agree with the dj getting the ticket. i hope the owner took care of the ticket for him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpoppanils Posted July 8 Author Report Share Posted July 8 It is the law though. I had to follow it and file for the permits and pay the $35 fee inorder to get my permit before I could use a amplified speaker system for a podeum.true.but the bar should get the ticket...not the dj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxelicous Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 Damn, that's some stupid sh*t.....the city is trying to ruin our nightlife......I can't believe they ticketed the DJ and not the owner......the DJ has no control of the sound levels that leak out into the street,that's the owners responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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