A New York City councilmember wants to use artificial intelligence to strengthen enforcement of noise regulations that target rude drivers who lay on their horns or blast their bass.
There are currently just 11 noise cameras posted around New York City, and none are on Staten Island. The devices capture the screech of drag racing, the blast of illegal tailpipes and other noises that exceed 85 decibels. According to Councilmember Erik Bottcher, eight staffers at the Department of Environmental Protection review the footage of each noisy incident and determine who the loud vehicle’s owner is. Fines range from $800 to $2,500.
But as the noise camera program prepares to expand this fall, Bottcher wrote in a letter to the DEP that was made public on Thursday that now is the time for AI to help identify noisy drivers — especially repeat offenders.
“Right now, staff at the Department of Environmental Protection is, in an analog way, identifying license plates that the cameras pick up, but that is not the most effective way to do it,” Bottcher, who represents parts of Manhattan’s West Side, told Gothamist. “The program has so much more potential if we could utilize AI in a smart way to identify license plates and issue infractions.”
He suggested AI could help pinpoint offending drivers on crowded two-way streets. Bottcher said AI could perform such tasks, and the savings would more than pay for the new technology’s implementation.
“It’s a matter of capturing every infraction consistently so repeat offenders are held accountable repeatedly,” Bottcher said. “When we expand the program, the staffing would be immense and that [AI] would save money and avoid that.”
The 11 noise cameras currently set up around the city have produced 1,602 summonses between June 2021 and 2024, resulting in $800,000 in fines, according to city records. Recordings from a camera on West 41st Street near the Lincoln Tunnel resulted in the issuance of 375 violations over more than two years. That’s nearly 25% of all summonses since the program went into effect, the most from any single noise camera. A camera on East 36th Street, near the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, came in second place.
But a report issued last week on the cameras highlights a problem that AI wouldn’t address: The noisy drivers aren’t paying the fines. Last year, the cameras resulted in $462,000 worth of fines. But only $113,000 of that amount has been paid.
The expanded program will post five cameras in every borough.
Bottcher said many of his fellow councilmembers want more cameras in their districts to crack down on street noise late at night. He said AI holds the key to creating a robust network to punish and deter violators, as well as ensure New Yorkers get a good night’s sleep.
“This will not cost law-abiding drivers one cent,” Bottcher said. “I believe that this could generate many, many millions of dollars in additional revenue for the city, all from people who are breaking the law and disrupting our neighborhoods.”