In an amazingly insensitive presentation on the vexed issue of Noise Abatement, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange, recently delivered her maiden contribution to the Sectoral Debate 2008/09 in Gordon House entitled “Defining Ourselves”. In the presentation, the Minister conveniently ignored the persistent complaints of citizens and residents of residential communities about Night Noises, obviously skewing her remarks to the benefit of errant entertainment promoters and in fact politely chided the Police for enforcing the tenets of the Noise Abatement Act, claiming that commerce was being stymied by such enforcement. The Minister further intimated, that specially designated Entertainment Zones are to be established and that such zones and the associated regulations to govern their operations are being developed for approval by the Cabinet of Jamaica, albeit with no reference to the wider citizenry. The residents of New Kingston in particular, have been complaining bitterly about the issue of Night Noises for years. However, given the preponderance of illegitimate open air entertainment activities which affect the community and based on the obvious predisposition of Minister Grange, there is a strong likelihood that the entire community will be designated an Entertainment Zone, placing it under direct threat. The following represents the verbatim presentation of this aspect of the Ministers presentation on Tuesday, June 17, 2008:
"Mr Speaker, the recent stringent enforcement of the night noise act by the police has created a number of unintended socio-economic consequences:
(a)Commerce is being stymied – tailors, hairdressers, vendors, concessionaires, performers, suppliers of products (food, drink, containers, ice, confectionary) and promoters are all losing significant income. The multiplier effect of this loss of income will be significant.
(b)We need to recognize that for many in this chain, their main or only source of income, is under threat. They will have no option but to resort to alternate means of earning which can lead directly to an increase in crime and vagrancy.
(c)Dances, parties and other forms of entertainment are the only release for many who find life hard. As such, events collectively are the valve on the pressure cooker that is our society.
(d)For many, attending dances and parties is what keeps them away from a life of crime, mischief and idleness.
(e) We must recognize that anything that affects the entertainment industry, directly affects the tourism industry and by extension the nations survival. Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists come to our shores and spend much needed hard currency to experience our culture and music. Do we want to put a stop to this?
(f)In addition, there has been increased resentment against the police, which hinders them in carrying out their duties effectively.
Against this background, we need to look on the situation realistically to not throw out the baby with the bathwater, but create a situation where there is greater order without stifling the entertainment industry.
Like everywhere else in the modern world we have to find ways to make our existing infrastructure work harder around the clock and earn more to the betterment of all. This is why there are cities that “don’t sleep” like New York, Chicago, Miami, London, Las Vegas, Japan, Toronto and more. This is achieved by creating Entertainment Zones. In parallel, it is important to have zones that do not generally support “night noise activities” like suburban neighborhoods.
The key to an entertainment zone policy working is recognizing that a balance needs to be struck between certain rights and needs of citizens for peace and quiet, as well as the rights and needs for entertainment. It is also important that respect for “peace and quiet” should not apply just to entertainment promoters, but also churches and other groups which have events. With this in mind there have to be areas where formal entertainment activities are allowed and sanctioned and others where they are not.
At the centre of consideration for an entertainment zone, is the extent of noise and the nature of the environment surrounding the source of the noise. Of greatest concern then, are open air events from which sound travels to disturb nearby residents that do not wish to hear what is happening at the event. It is particularly important to ensure children are not disturbed on the eve of school days.
In addition to noise disturbance, content is also important. In general terms open air events with significant noise factor should not feature profanity, the promotion of violence and explicit sexual description. Of course this would not apply to closed venues, which do not impact on people outside of the venue.
Based on the relatively compact nature of communities in the island we will have to embark on a tiered zone approach with respect to open air events, which features zones with:
No restrictions
Some restrictions
Complete restriction of activities
Details of the demarcation of zones and associated regulations are currently being developed for decision by Cabinet and eventual adoption by the relevant authorities".
(a)Commerce is being stymied – tailors, hairdressers, vendors, concessionaires, performers, suppliers of products (food, drink, containers, ice, confectionary) and promoters are all losing significant income. The multiplier effect of this loss of income will be significant.
(b)We need to recognize that for many in this chain, their main or only source of income, is under threat. They will have no option but to resort to alternate means of earning which can lead directly to an increase in crime and vagrancy.
(c)Dances, parties and other forms of entertainment are the only release for many who find life hard. As such, events collectively are the valve on the pressure cooker that is our society.
(d)For many, attending dances and parties is what keeps them away from a life of crime, mischief and idleness.
(e) We must recognize that anything that affects the entertainment industry, directly affects the tourism industry and by extension the nations survival. Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists come to our shores and spend much needed hard currency to experience our culture and music. Do we want to put a stop to this?
(f)In addition, there has been increased resentment against the police, which hinders them in carrying out their duties effectively.
Against this background, we need to look on the situation realistically to not throw out the baby with the bathwater, but create a situation where there is greater order without stifling the entertainment industry.
Like everywhere else in the modern world we have to find ways to make our existing infrastructure work harder around the clock and earn more to the betterment of all. This is why there are cities that “don’t sleep” like New York, Chicago, Miami, London, Las Vegas, Japan, Toronto and more. This is achieved by creating Entertainment Zones. In parallel, it is important to have zones that do not generally support “night noise activities” like suburban neighborhoods.
The key to an entertainment zone policy working is recognizing that a balance needs to be struck between certain rights and needs of citizens for peace and quiet, as well as the rights and needs for entertainment. It is also important that respect for “peace and quiet” should not apply just to entertainment promoters, but also churches and other groups which have events. With this in mind there have to be areas where formal entertainment activities are allowed and sanctioned and others where they are not.
At the centre of consideration for an entertainment zone, is the extent of noise and the nature of the environment surrounding the source of the noise. Of greatest concern then, are open air events from which sound travels to disturb nearby residents that do not wish to hear what is happening at the event. It is particularly important to ensure children are not disturbed on the eve of school days.
In addition to noise disturbance, content is also important. In general terms open air events with significant noise factor should not feature profanity, the promotion of violence and explicit sexual description. Of course this would not apply to closed venues, which do not impact on people outside of the venue.
Based on the relatively compact nature of communities in the island we will have to embark on a tiered zone approach with respect to open air events, which features zones with:
No restrictions
Some restrictions
Complete restriction of activities
Details of the demarcation of zones and associated regulations are currently being developed for decision by Cabinet and eventual adoption by the relevant authorities".
9 comments:
I wonder what the Minister means with "no restrictions"? As long and as loud as they want, the rest of us be damned? I heard an amazing discussion on RJR the other whereby one of the promoters of Passa Passa and an Irie FM rep where suggesting that the human brain gets used to loud noise? As a frequent night noise victim since I bought my house my house some 15 years ago, my "brain" has not gotten used to it at all. Well to the contrary. Don't these people realize that all of this is destroying Jamaica and with it the music industry. The minister needs to consider the long-term issues, not the immediate needs of her friends in the music industry
The Minister said: "For many, attending dances and parties is what keeps them away from a life of crime, mischief and idleness." Doesn't she realize it also what keeps them away from A LIFE OF WORK and, thereby, keeps them poor and makes it less likely for them to make any productive contribution to society? What a load of self-serving nonsense!
This is what disgusts me the most with politicians, the rank opportunism. People have been suffering for decades in this country from the ill effects of Night Noises and Ms Grange thinks that pandering to her friends in the entertainment industry is a solution. Further just when we have a Commissioner with the backbone to deal with the situation, here comes Ms Grange to chide him and the JCF for enforcing the law. This is particularly ironic now that we are in the midst of an upsurge in criminal activity and the PM would expect us to give up some of our rights so that they can deal with the situation. When in Opposition, they criticized P J Patterson's nonsensical comment about the law not being a shackle but it seems to me that Bruce Golding needs to remind Ms Grange that they too need to adhere and uphold the law and not massage it to accomodate a few more of her friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry.This is just sickening.
What self-serving rubbish but I am really not surprised. This is Babsy Grange we are talking about, one of the main political relics.
I hope somebody brings this post and the subsequent discussion to the attention of minister Grange. The only place where I could conceivably see an entertainment zone that would not significantly disrupt residents' lives is somewhere midway along Palisadoes, where nobody lives, and that would cause its own problems, with traffic and airport security. It is ironic that this government is talking about increasing the building density of Kingston but has not thought through some of the consequences, such as more problems arising from outdoor entertainment. Have these people never heard of indoor clubs and concert halls? And, let me tell you something, if my neighborhood is declared a "no restrictions" or "some restrictions" zone without due consultation with us residents, I'm quite willing to go to the courts about it!
If they seek to designate our community as an entertainment zone I too am willing to take this matter to court. How could the Government even contemplate this strategy? Talk about disconnected from the people.
This is sad. The commissioner's efforts to deal with night noise have been imperfect, at best, but at least he recognizes that it is a major problem that needs to be tackled decisively. It is pathetic that the Minister of Culture should undermine the efforts at restoring law and order, and all of it for the sake of Mammon!
Has Minister Grange and by extension the Golding regime lost their collective minds? Surely as astute politicians they really could not intend to ignore the complaints of their citizens regarding night noises. But then if Minister Grange has the temerity to criticize the Commissioner and the JCF for enforcing the Noise Abatement law is there any other reasonable interpretation?
I've lived in the "entertainment district" of a major North American city for several years and have never been deprived of sleep because of loud music, other than one or two occasions where people in my building had parties. The entertainment districts in major overseas cities still have significant restrictions that protect the rights of those who live and work there. I've traveled quite a bit in my life and nowhere I've been is music played as loud and as late as in Jamaica. The worst part of this "late and loud" culture is that the perpetrators and their supporters feel completely justified, as if it is some fundamental, God-given cultural right to play extraordinarily loud music until mid morning. And we're lucky when it is just music and not some drugged-up DJ screaming into the mike for hours on end! What happens daily in almost all parts of Jamaica is sheer insanity! Surely, it must be possible to have a vibrant and lucrative Jamaican music industry without lapsing into such excesses.I'm very happy that the Commissioner has made a commitment to deal with this matter. If the Minister of Culture has any real commitment to the welfare of this country, she should support him and find ways to mitigate the (self-)destructive side of the Jamaican music industry.
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