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Above, a photo of an existing noise camera deployed in New York City from a website testimonial for SoundVue, which makes noise cameras that are in use in Europe and the United States. Photo from SoundVue
City Councillor Brian Worrell says Boston should consider deploying new technology to combat a rise in the offensive late-night noise that has upset neighbors in his district and other city neighborhoods this summer. He has asked his Council colleagues for a hearing to learn more about “noise cameras” that can locate offending properties or vehicles and lead to fines as a way to crack down on trouble spots.
Worrell says the idea is a response to the frequent so-called “takeovers” that have plagued specific streets and parks in his district in recent years.
“We are seeing, a lot of times, four or five night-club style industrial speakers from four or five different vehicles on a street pulling up inside of neighborhoods at 2 a.m., along with 200 or 300 people blasting music and partying,” he said.
“We’ve tried a lot of different strategies, but nothing is working perfectly. I’m all about having fun in the summer but there’s a line crossed here for being a good neighbor and causing destruction…Having an unpermitted party like these deserves a fine. We’re trying to make sure our residents can have a good night’s sleep.”
Worrell wants Boston to look at noise-detection technology that is already in use in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island – and coming soon to Providence. The devices contain a video camera equipped with a decibel meter placed on a moveable unit resembling a mobile messaging board. The technology detects loud music coming from an area, or a car, and measures the decibels while snapping a picture of the license plate. The device isn’t triggered unless it detects a noise exceeding the 85-decibel noise ordinance in place after 11 p.m. in Boston.
The evidence would be forwarded to the local district police station, where an officer would review the footage and determine if it constitutes a violation. If so, a ticket would be issued by mail to the owner of the car for violating the noise ordinance.
City Councillor Brian Worrell. Chris Lovett photo
“I do think we can get to a place where technology is used to identify those breaking the noise ordinance,” Worrell said. “At the end of the day, a human is the one reviewing the video and writing the ticket.”
The technology could enforce the law on noise levels coming from passing car radios, motorcycles, or car engines, but, Worrell says, he “is not interested in that.” He would target fixed street party locations, such as Old Road, Blue Hill Avenue, Seaver Street, Columbia Road, Talbot Avenue, and American Legion Highway.
“You having the windows or sunroof down and playing Teddy Pendergrass, Beyonce, or Soca music, that’s fine and dandy with me,” he said. “It’s you setting up a club on the side of the street with hundreds of people after midnight. We’re not talking about a backyard cookout.”
Worrell said that unlawful gatherings along public streets is the real target of his concern. Boston Police now routinely close off streets like Talbot Avenue and Old Road on weekend nights in an attempt to contain the gatherings. But that, Worrell says, has “moved the problem and not solved it.”
The “noise-camera” technology has been used in New York City since a pilot program in 2021 that became permanent through City Council approval in 2023. In the first nine months of 2025, the noise camera program had issued $750,000 in fines throughout NYC to address a spike in loud noise and street parties, according to reporting from the New York Post. The noise cameras they use, however, are affixed to street poles and not mobile.
Newport has instituted noise cameras over the last few years, and with great success, according to police officials in that small city. And Providence officials told The Reporter that excessive noise has become a “consistent quality of life priority” for Mayor Brett Smiley as the city suffer from similar issues as Boston. They plan to implement the noise cameras soon.
Wrote Mayoral spokesperson Austin Grondin: “The city has invested in a range of tools to strengthen noise enforcement and is continuing to develop options that are informed by best practices from communities across the country as well as input from residents.
“At this time, we do not have noise cameras in place, but the City is developing a pilot program intended to evaluate how this technology could complement the City’s existing enforcement efforts. Details regarding implementation, including locations and tools used by the City will be finalized as that process moves forward.”
In Dorchester, some are already skeptical of the cameras and the street takeover ordinance, which in extreme cases allows police to notify landlords of problem tenants.
At a public safety forum sponsored by Worrell on Aug. 24, some residents felt it was a slippery slope. Camera surveillance and abuse of the new “flock cameras” has become a hot-button issue, and that was the case at the meeting.
“What it seems to look like here to me is the beginning of over- policing,” said one resident who was not named. “People have the right to enjoy life as much as people have the right to enjoy silence. If the music is so loud at 2 a.m., then that’s reasonable to address. But we can’t do this again. We have come so far away from this.
“To go after housing makes no sense,” she added. “It could ruin lives and just for small things, keep the cycle going.”
Worrell countered that he is just looking to enforce the existing noise ordinance and would at the same time be combatting over-policing. “Police don’t have to show up to the scene to enforce the ordinance already on the books, so there’s actually no police coming to the area and over-policing the situation,” he said, “because it’s automatic and by camera.”
Worrell said he hopes to have hearings and discussion as soon as possible, pass legislation by the end of the year, and get both the street takeover ordinance and noise camera pilot program in place by next summer.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
