The NYPD Is Busy Confiscating Some Banging Car Sound Systems In Queens

June 3, 2019, 5:09 p.m.

'Turns out, not only was the owner of this car inconsiderate to his Queens neighbors, he was also operating it while intoxicated.'

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New Yorkers have to put up with near-constant, throbbing waves of noise due to things out of our control (like construction, ice cream trucks and inconsiderate subway riders), so it is understandable that when given a chance, some locals choose to take advantage of our 311 system and report noisy neighbors. And sometimes that results in a beautiful, bangin' sound system getting confiscated—which is what happened last week in Queens.

"After receiving several complaints of loud music at all hours of the night, our officers followed up. Turns out, not only was the owner of this car inconsiderate to his Queens neighbors, he was also operating it while intoxicated," the NYPD said.

An NYPD spokersperson told Gothamist that officers observed a man in a 2002 Honda (bearing mismatched Pennsylvania plates) driving near the intersection of Meadow Lake Road and Meadow Lake Drive last Monday around 8 p.m. They say he was playing loud music that was "audible from a distance of fifty feet away." The driver, 23-year-old Bronx resident Adonys Morel-Delacruz, was pulled over and arrested; he has been charged with a DWI, DWAI, vehicle with amp system (a real charge!), illegal possession of vehicle identification number, refusal to take breath test, and more.

According to the NYPD's open data on complaints, there were 511 noise complaints made in May in the Corona/Elmhurst area which the 110th Precinct covers (there have been over 1,500 noise complaints altogether in that area in 2019 so far). And that has included at least three supremely impressive music rigs, which were all documented by the precinct on Twitter. There's no doubt that this much subwoofer is bound to cause all sorts of problems for neighbors, but also...they're my beloved large sons:

If you're curious about what happens to vehicles and sound systems in situations like these, the NYPD has a lot of rules about when and how they return property—but if they aren't claimed, you should keep an eye out on the Property Room site, where they regularly have online auctions.