For years, New Yorkers have asked for quieter sirens. It's time to act.

The city should pass legislation to add a 311 siren noise complaint category, Brewer's bill to allow emergency vehicles to emit low-frequency pulses, and Riversa's bill to replace the New York siren with the lower-frequency two-tone siren used in Europe.

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From Curbed, 2023: "Constant blaring sounds can deteriorate a community’s health. Besides hearing loss, noise pollution has been linked to high blood pressure, sleep disruption, and stress, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. As Bonner says: 'People’s nervous systems and bodies are not able to rest. They’re always in a state of fight or flight.'"

"In June 2023, the City Council introduced two bills to quiet the sirens. One bill, sponsored by Councilmember Gale Brewer, proposes to add a device to emergency vehicles that would emit a low-frequency pulse, already used in the U.K. and across the U.S., that drivers can feel instead of hear. The second bill, sponsored by Councilmember Carlina Rivera, aims to replace the blaring New York siren with the lower-frequency two-tone siren popular in Europe. (You can hear it here.)"

"A 2015 University of Michigan study found that reducing noise by even five decibels could decrease a community’s prevalence of hypertension by 1.4 percent and coronary heart disease by 1.8 percent — that’s approximately 279,000 fewer cases."