The Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore, has extended an apology to residents in the vicinity of the Promenade Gardens on New Market Street in Georgetown for the noise nuisance that plagued their neighbourhood as a result of a “White & Gold” Toga Party that was held over the weekend.
The event was held by Hits and Jams Entertainment. Several residents in the area are still very upset as they described the event as traumatizing since the once quiet neighbourhood has now become a hot spot for events that infringe on their peace and tranquility. The recurring noise nuisance has become a matter of deep concern for those residing in the areas surrounding the Gardens. Moreover, they have noted that this was the worst experience they have ever had since living in the community.
Yesterday, the mayor spoke to the residents as they voiced their concerns and frustrations caused by Sunday’s event.
Stabroek News also spoke to the mayor, who said that the decision to rent the gardens was not one taken by the council but by the administration of the city. He stated that an inquiry will be held to see if events of such nature meet the criteria of the administration with the intention to not have loud events at the venue.
“We will work on a policy to change and review the current criteria so that we don’t have issues like this moving forward”, the mayor said.
When this newspaper reached out to Hits and Jams yesterday, the Public Relations Officer, Amel Griffith said that the company’s director, Kerwin Bollers, was approached by a resident on the day of the event and the music volume was turned down immediately.
She also stressed that the company did take into consideration, the location and the fact that residents live in the area. As such, the event ended at 12am promptly, and patrons had started to leave the venue by 11pm.
In a letter published in the Stabroek News on October 17, an affected resident, detailed the ongoing plight and frustration shared by many. She noted that traditionally, the gardens were a venue for children’s parties and small ‘family-oriented’ gatherings, which did not disrupt the neighbourhood’s serenity.
However, she highlighted that this peaceful tradition has recently given way to a new normal characterised by loud music, drinking, and dancing, especially during the weekends.
“That has changed, and today the Gardens is a place of loud music played at the highest decibels, noise, drinking, and dancing, especially at weekends. This unwelcome shift in event dynamics has left residents feeling overwhelmed by the noise pollution and exasperated by their inability to find a satisfactory resolution.” Callender lamented
The resident’s letter pointed out that efforts to address the escalating issue had been made, including contact with authorities at the Mayor and City Council and the Guyana Police Force. Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had been notified via their hotline. However, most of these efforts seemed to have yielded no tangible results.
“I have spoken to the person in charge of approving these events at the Mayor and City Council, called the Guyana Police Force to intervene when the noise is unbearable and even called the EPA hotline to make contact with someone, but nothing happens,” the letter stated.
Subsequently, Stabroek News contacted the resident, who stated that the Mayor visited the area earlier yesterday and apologised while assuring the residents that no event of that nature will be permitted to be kept at the gardens again.
The resident further described how the event unfolded and the discord between promises made and actions taken by the organisers and authorities.
“The music started at around 4:00 pm at a lower decibel but was soon turned up to maximum volume leaving myself and the other residents of the neighborhood tortured and ‘traumatized’ she stated.
Moreover, the resident highlighted her dissatisfaction that only three days prior to the “toga and wine party ” she had requested a meeting with the Mayor and City Council’s representative at the same location where the disruptive party occurred. During this meeting, she suggested that such events be moved to another part of the Gardens, away from the homes that line the North Western side of the gardens.
“She agreed that loud music should not be set up at that location and what decibel should be used when hosting events. However none of this was adhered to”, the resident said.
She said that earlier that day she had approached Bollers and he assured her that the music would have been turned down, however this was never done.
“During the night my car alarms kept going off, I couldn’t sleep and the windows kept vibrating.”
Another resident said she told her neighbour that it was “traumatic” as she had no other words to describe it.
“Over 40 years I am living in this area and we never had anything like this before. That party that they had there is not for these areas.”
