Noise Complaint: Part 3
I woke up this morning to the sound of bass thumping, so, fed up and tired, I called the police and asked them to come out and talk with me about my options. By the time the two officers arrived, my neighbor had left, and all was quiet. They advised me to file a harassment complaint with the local magistrate and call them again if his music was loud again in the evening.
So frustrated!
Finding out about this magistrate business on the web was a pretty grueling ordeal, as I nearly exhausted all my mental faculties simply coming up with search words, until finally, I just emailed someone whose email address was on an Allegheny County web site. Strangely, she responded within the hour, and her email contained the address and phone number of the local magistrate's office. Brilliant.
I called the magistrate's office and spoke with one of the least helpful people ever and then had to deal with her again when I arrived. Before I went, however, I printed out a couple copies of a log of all the related interactions I've had with the police, my landlord, and my neighbor. As it turns out, that wasn't necessary because that's apparently something the magistrate will only want to see after he approves the complaint.
Anyway, I filed a harassment complaint against my neighbor, and now, we get to see what happens. I also told my landlady, and she forwarded my email to my neighbor, whose music was miraculously at a reasonable (but still audible) volume for most of the evening.
