Being attacked and physically injured by the neighbors in 2023 was a huge shock. I never expected something like that to happen when I bought this house. It was even more shocking and disappointing that when I reported the injuries and behavior to the village and the sheriff department, I was gaslit and experienced retaliation. Other people in the village have also complained about the boom cars and experienced retaliation. The difference between the other people in the village complaining about the boom cars and me is that those other people live on other streets. I live in the house directly across from and next to the houses with the boom cars. It’s worse for me.

In 2024, I decided I need to try to come up with a safety plan in case it happened again. It’s obvious that neither the village nor the sheriff department are going to keep us safe from physical injury. My plan was that we would just leave when they do the boom car behavior. 

This safety plan failed epically for multiple reasons. Emboldened by the fact that everyone who complained about the boom cars in 2023 experienced retaliation, they got worse in 2024. They were constant for 18-21 hours a day for at least 5 months. I cannot afford to live in a hotel, apartment, or a second residence for several months per year.

We did spend a night in the car on the side of the road like homeless people. We are not homeless. I own a home. I own property. But I was so exhausted after several months of only 3 hours of sleep per day and blood dripping out of my ears, we needed a break. We slept in the car. 

Mind you, the car smells like urine. That was not a pleasant experience. The neighbors have an outhouse directly against my garage, using my garage as the fourth wall to their outhouse. It gets daily use. Not to mention, their children came onto my property without permission and threw rocks at my car, trying to damage and disable it. I was told that their children were allowed to come onto my property without my permission and throw rocks at my car because “they own the street.” 

This fall, the neighbors also started blocking my driveway again. Often, I am unable to leave. Once, I went to the pharmacy and was blocked from returning home for three hours. I wasn’t feeling well. I wanted to lie down. I could not physically reach my house. 

It’s like playing Russian roulette trying to figure out when I can leave the house when the driveway is not blocked and hoping I will be able to return home. 

No, the police will not respond to this situation. I was told it is legal for people to park on the side of the road, even if they park directly in front of a driveway, completely blocking access to the property. 

The man who does my snowplowing was not even able to plow my driveway once this winter because they were blocking my driveway with their vehicle. They refused to move the car. I had to pay for snowplowing that did not actually happen because my driveway could not be accessed.

I have been told if I complain about the neighbor abuse again, my cats will be taken and used as bait for the dog fighting ring. I feel like I have used all my options. There is no way to make the behavior stop.

We need to be safe. I now have permanent hearing damage because of their actions. The cats (especially Jolene) do too. 

A new safety plan is needed this year, especially since leaving is not an option. They physically prevent me from leaving. 

I reached out to a sound engineering company in Pennsylvania run by a retired Navy veteran. I asked them to do an analysis about soundproofing the house – even just one room so we have a safe place. I provided them with photos, videos, and decibel reading of the noise from the boom cars.

The gentleman from the residential section of the sound engineering firm shook his head. He said what we are experiencing far exceeds what is normal in a residential setting. Boom cars are typically illegal, especially in residential areas. The vehicles are supposed to be impounded and the sound systems removed. 

I told him there is a NYS vehicle law that states that sound from vehicles is not supposed to exceed 70db at the property line. However, NYS laws do not apply in this village. The village encourages the boom cars.

The residential sound engineer referred me to the commercial sound engineer – this is the person who does soundproofing for things like gun firing ranges. 

The commercial person also said what I am experiencing far exceeds even a gun firing range in that the noise I am experiencing is constant, for hours. The noise at a gun firing range is intermittent. 

The analysis they provided is that the house cannot be soundproofed for this level of noise. It cannot be retrofitted. The noise I am experiencing far exceeds what people should experience in a home. 

They did suggest a room of new construction – new build – be built in the basement with shock absorbers in the walls. They suggested the basement since all the db readings I have recorded are on the first floor of my home. Although, the noise in the basement is bad too. If you set a glass of water on the workbench in the basement, the water in the glass “jumps” due to the level of noise they produce. It’s that loud. 

We end up stuck in this house with no way to leave and no way to make it stop. 

I feel helpless. No one can make this stop, and no one cares.

I don’t like feeling helpless. I feel like I need to do something to try to protect me and the cats.

We have been working on our tornado training as the result of the tornado we had last summer. The basement is our safe place for tornadoes. While the excessive noise from the boom cars is still excessive in the basement, it’s not as bad (not by much) as the first floor.

So, the basement seems to be the safest place in the house. I say that with a grain of salt. The basement is not safe either. The noise is excessive down there also. Not to mention, the radon in the basement is high. Radon levels are supposed to be 4 or below. Radon levels in our basement are well over 30. I had been saving money for radon mitigation, but all that money has been drained since the neighbors behavior prevents me from working. 

With both tornadoes and neighbor abuse in mind, the basement seems like the best bet. Jude and Jolene are trained to go to the basement on their own. Simon is still working on carrier training. He is scared of both the carrier and the basement. 

I decided to get two more carriers to put in the basement, that way there are carriers already down there. It makes things easier for me when there is a tornado – Jude and Jolene will go to the basement, I just need to grab Simon. If carriers are already in the basement, then I do not have to worry about trying to grab those too in addition to getting everyone down there for safety. 

I bought a roll of mass loaded vinyl and used it to put around the carriers. I also covered them with my old bed comforter. I know that mass loaded vinyl will not help at all with the level of noise we are experiencing from the boom cars, but I feel like I need to do something to keep us safe. 

I also got a pair of gun range headphones for me to wear in the basement. They are pretty much a waste of money. You can still hear the booming even with gun range headphones. The noise is that excessive. Still, if there is any way to prevent blood dripping from ears – it’s worth a try? 

This is our safety plan for 2025 since our safety plan for 2024 failed epically. In addition to subjecting us to excessive noise, the neighbors are now physically preventing us from leaving. I’m just trying to do the best I can to stay safe. I don’t know what more to do.

At the very least, it will be helpful to have the carriers in the basement for tornadoes. I can put the cats in the carriers once they are in the basement. It just makes it easier for me to get us all down there if there are some tornado supplies already there.