Noise complaints from neighbors in Seattle’s Magnuson Park reach boiling point this summer

LOS ANGELES — After-hours parties in a Seattle park are driving residents to the brink of madness. Excessive noise from car radios and gunfire echo off the hills above Magnuson Park and have caught the attention of at least one city leader.

The parties have been going on all night since summer began, and the noise they create can rattle the windows of houses just blocks away, according to several neighbors.

Seattle City Councilwoman Maritza Rivera has heard enough.

“We know Magnuson Park. Sometimes teenagers go there to party. This doesn’t sound like that,” Rivera said. “It’s very exaggerated, all night long, like I said, and it’s being reported on very large speakers.”

The View Ridge Community Council (VRCC) is urging people in the area to report the violations, which primarily involve loud music blaring up the hill from the parking lots surrounding the park.

Robert Johnson, president of the VRCC, wrote in a recent post that his organization had been inundated with emails and comments from neighbors who were “angry and a little helpless.”

Neighbors reported that the amplified music and nightly revelries can begin at 2 a.m. and then blare for hours until dawn. Residents reported that it can get so loud that they can’t even have a conversation in their own homes. Confrontation with the group can be dangerous.

“Recently, a boater was threatened by a car and almost hit by a car,” Rivera said.

Gates to the park are being built and Rivera is working with the mayor’s office and the Parks and Recreation Department to ensure the gates remain locked after hours.

“Since last night they started closing the gates in question, the gates that lead to the boat dock area. That’s where the noise is coming from,” Rivera said.

In addition to the loud music, some neighbors also hear gunshots. In the mornings, they find bullet casings and beer and liquor bottles scattered around the parking lots. Many agree that locking the gates is a good start.

“We’ll see if that solves the problem, great. If not, we’ll continue the conversation about what we can do next, if anything,” Rivera said.