Neighbors Complain Shabbos Siren is Dangerously Loud

A siren at a Brooklyn synagogue signifies the Sabbath, but neighbors said their complaint about the painfully loud noise has fallen on deaf ears.

As CBS2’s Valerie Castro reported, the city is filled with all kinds of loud noises. Of course, it comes with the territory. But some Bedford-Stuyvesant residents said a sound on another level is coming from the synagogue with a siren to signify Shabbat, which leaves them covering their ears. “There’s a quality to the sound that’s actually you know, it’s sort of, ‘Errrrr!’’” said Robert Prichard of Bedford-Stuyvesant.


The siren was installed just a few months ago. “I’m used to noise — it’s part of living in a city. This is something else entirely,” Graubart said, “unbelievably loud; breathtakingly loud. It’s terrifying.” Some residents have even bought special hearing protection to muffle the sound. “Even with these on, I can still hear it,” Prichard said as he wore the hearing protection.

The blast lasts for 90 seconds.