Residents of Franklin Square say that a growing quality-of-life and safety issue along the Southern State Parkway has been met with little to no enforcement, despite state legislation intended to address it.
For years, homeowners near the parkway have dealt with traffic noise. But many now say the rise of modified vehicles — producing explosive, gunshot-like sounds — has transformed a background nuisance into a daily disruption.
“Every three or four minutes, if I go out in my backyard right now, while we're talking, we won't be able to talk over the noise, and it's so dangerous,” Franklin Square resident Catherine Owens said during a phone call with the Herald.
Neighbors describe a sharp increase in the number vehicles with altered mufflers, often heard long before and after they pass. The sounds, they say, are impossible to ignore.
“You can't just, like, ignore it in the background of your life,” said Jonathan Ghassemi, another Franklin Square resident. “You know, like, you have to stop, kind of, your brain automatically kicks to it.”
The issue persists despite the state’s passage of the Sleep Act in 2021, a law designed to crack down on excessive vehicle noise and penalize both drivers and inspection stations that allow illegal modifications.
“The most frustrating thing about it is that they passed legislation,” Ghassemi said of his disappointment in the lack of enforcement. “And the intent was that, you know, there would be increased enforcement on the streets.”
For many in Franklin Square, the impact extends beyond inconvenience. Residents say the constant noise interrupts sleep, affects mental well-being and raises safety concerns.
“We love the neighborhood,” Owens said. “We're very happy here, but it's gotten to the point that we just can't continue putting up with it, you know, we're woken up in the middle of the night numerous times.” She has lived in the area since 1989, and said that the noise has gotten progressively worse over the years.
Owens said that even routine activities now make her uneasy. “I wait until I see no cars coming,” she said. “These kids are just zooming like crazy.”
Residents point to local roads like Dogwood Avenue, which connects to the parkway, as particularly problematic. Drivers accelerate rapidly, they say, treating the roadway like an extension of the highway.
“How hard would it be to pull over a person that is announcing themselves for a mile before they get to you?” Owens said.
What residents describe as a lack of accountability among agencies only compounds the frustration, residents say, adding that their calls to law enforcement often result in explanations about limited staffing or jurisdictional challenges.
That lack of enforcement, residents argue, is contributing not only to noise but to dangerous driving conditions along a stretch of the Southern State Parkway between exits 17 and 32 often referred to as “Blood Alley.”
Recent crashes have heightened those concerns. Residents recalled a fatal incident weeks ago in which a vehicle near Exit 17S in West Hempstead crossed a median and struck multiple cars.
Nearby communities are experiencing similar issues. In Malverne, on the other side of the parkway, residents report a similar increase in noise and reckless driving. Anna Darougar said what was once a seasonal annoyance from motorcycles has evolved into a constant disturbance.
“I would say, like, seven years ago, with the motorcycles … it was something that was almost, like, seasonal,” Darougar said. “This is like, noon, one o'clock, two o'clock, it's constant. It's continuous.”
She described the sounds as startling and disorienting. “You have to stop and, like, think that, like, what just exploded?” she said. “And then you realize it's one of those cars.”
The Southern State, Darougar said, sometimes sounds more like a racetrack than a highway.
“I really just don't want to hear it anymore,” Owens said. “I want to hear a solution to the problem.”
This month, New York State Police launched what it called Operation Southern Shield to help enforce laws governing reckless driving.
Ownes wrote in a message that this is a good step — “one piece with many needed.”
