Their homes are shake, rattle and rolling. Rockaways residents living near the $3.7 million Beach 94th Street Amphitheater say live music at the venue has made life a living hell since it opened last year.
“We’re in our homes with our doors shut, our AC on and our TV on, and it’s insufferable,” said Joe O’Sullivan, 59, a retired FDNY firefighter who lives less than 300 feet from the amphitheater with his wife, Helena. The couple captured video of their home’s interior shaking from the thumping of dance music blaring from the Soulful House Brothers festival on July 28. “It was my medicine cabinet shaking, and all the stuff in it.
It was weird. I couldn’t believe,” Helena said. “We’ve had construction done over the years since [Hurricane] Sandy, and we’ve never had that.
“You can only call 311 so many times,” she added. Since opening in May 2023 , there have been at least one hundred music-related 311 calls near the amphitheater, which is run by the Parks Department and can hold at least 300 people, although residents said they have not done any decibel readings of the noise. The venue has been a popular stage for local musicians such as French-language rockers Les San Culottes and the Rambones, a Ramones tribute band Locals said just a quarter of the dozens of events held at the amphitheater are “beautiful, outstanding, tear-jerking [performances] .
. . that do bring people together.
” “The other 75% keep people away because it’s so loud, you.