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Before & after photos: Carol Karels for CLIFFVIEW PILOT
More than 200 people have signed a petition asking the county to “not again schedule a noise-generating event of the scale of the New York Korean Fair.”
“In addition to the lack of sensitivity in scheduling the event on Yom Kippur, its magnitude was disruptive to the communities surrounding the park,” the petition says.
“When Leonia and its neighbors donated land to the County for a park in 1950, the intention was to improve the quality of life, not detract from it,” it adds. “We seek recognition from you that the rights and expectations of Leonians will be respected.
Councilman John DeSimone said Saturday morning that he will lease the bus himself if enough people express interest in attending the 8 p.m. meeting in the county Administration Building.
DeSimone said he has been unable to reach county Parks Director Ronald Kistner to complain about the hundreds of noise complaints he said were registered by residents to both the Leonia and county police dispatch centers during the Oct. 8 and 9 festival.
“We will be discussing our enforcement options at the council meeting Monday evening, examining the noise ordinance to see whether changes are indicated, and asking the borough attorney to research our alternatives in dealing with the county,” DeSimone said.
The K-POP festival was sponsored by the Korean Produce Association of New York, and was moved to the Ridgefield Park section of Overpeck County Park because the group couldn’t obtain a permit from New York City this year.
The association paid for use of the facility, as well as for the clean-up.
Resident Roland Weimer, who attended the event, said people were well-behaved and that the operation was generally well-run. However, he said, the park facilities aren’t sufficent to stage such a large event.
“K-POP is a very popular worldwide phenomenon of Korean and Asian culture, basically teeny bands from Korea, and is very popular,” said Weimer, the Vice-President of the Rotary Club of the Palisades. “It is basically a large crowd of screaming teenagers.
“I honestly don’t think the parks officials had any idea what they were getting into.”
The noise was exacerbated because the bands didn’t use the county amphitheater, which faces Routes 80 and 95. The portable stage they used faced east, across the lake, which sent the sound barreling uphill into residential neighborhoods.
Some residents said they could hear the PA system with the windows closed. It began mid-morning each of the two days and went past 10 p.m., alternating between K-POP music and speeches.
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