Philly nightlife takes a hit as noise complaints force relocations, unexpected shutdowns

Philly nightlife is an ever-revolving door of happy hour hangs, lavish soirees, laid-back beer gardens, and weekend stay-puts. The city is also home to niche party cultures, intimate music venues, and stylish speakeasies.

Philly DJ David Pianka, better known as Dave P, believes these spaces make the city’s nightlife more vibrant than most. But in recent years, noise complaints have diminished much of its allure.

“Nightlife brings so much to cities, culturally and economically, and it needs to be prioritized more here in Philadelphia,” said Pianka, who founded the electronic music festival Making Time ∞. “So many other cities around the world celebrate and support nightlife and understand its value. Philadelphia needs to do the same.”

Noise complaints, Pianka said, have crippled many of Philly’s outdoor music experiences through the last few years. Fellow DJs and party promoters have been forced to relocate, or even cancel entire events, due to the stockpile of protests brought on by disgruntled residents and nearby establishments.

These complaints often come from neighborhoods with nightclubs and music venues, and newly constructed residential buildings. As, Pianka said, more people and businesses move into these neighborhoods, there is a growing divide between partygoers and residents looking for a quiet place to lay their head.

As new condominiums and high-end apartments are built, more buildings and residents are being squeezed closer together. The city’s growing infrastructure leaves little room for outdoor parties and events to happen without disturbing local residents.

On Memorial Day weekend, DJ Joshua Lang hosted a day party at Cherry Street Pier’s back garden. The event, on Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m., was “before the city’s ‘quiet hours,’ ” Lang said. He hired a sound engineer to monitor the volume, “to make sure it didn’t go over a certain decibel level — which we didn’t.”

The event was a success, Lang says, with over 5,000 people attending. He has hoped it would turn into a series, but in June he posted on Instagram that he would not be returning to the venue “due to neighbor’s complaints about sound.”

A representative from the Cherry Street Pier said they were not aware of any noise complaints, and that while the event was well received, it was only ever planned as a one-off.

In his Instagram story, Lang added: “it’s frustrating that we already don’t have many options in this city when it comes to venues.”

The city , “is in dire need of an event like this” Lang told The Inquirer. “Philadelphia is an amazing city and what’s happening right now is beautiful between different industries and scenes, but there’s just a ceiling here that seems to keep creatives at a certain level due to city restrictions.”

According to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, noise complaints are considered a health risk and commercial properties are prohibited from creating sounds that exceed five decibels above the “background level” at a property’s boundary line. The penalty for an initial violation is between $100 and $300, and the fee increases with subsequent violations.

Based on data from the department, there hasn’t been a dramatic rise in amplified music complaints in the past five years. But as of July 27, there were 10 amplified music complaints directed at Philly bars, restaurants, and nightlife spaces in 2023, which matches the total reported in all of 2022.

Pianka said it’s hard to blame a specific group for the noise complaints, but he said new developments are likely the cause of the issue. “The city needs to make culture and community more of a priority over development,” he said. “...[And] there needs to be more communication between nightlife promoters and city officials.”

“We need more venues, nightclubs, and diverse festivals. We need people who understand culture to be in these rooms where they’re making these decisions,” added Lang, who is also the music director for the W Hotel Philadelphia.

Disputes between residents, party promoters, and business owners in the Philly area are not new. Back in 2012, the New Tavern Bar Restaurant, then known as Watusi Pub II, drew complaints from West Philadelphians about the bar’s rowdy patrons and live music performances.

“I hear from people who have had bars in certain areas forever,” said Sara Walker, general manager of the Khyber Pass Pub. “And now that there’s some development next door, all of a sudden people are angry.” Walker, who recently revived Khyber’s live performance space after the longtime music venue was turned into a New Orleans-inspired eatery, believes that “in order for this city to be successful and have people come here to spend money, these [venues] need to be successful.”

She agrees that there are certain “nuisance bars,” but residents often blame establishments for little noise, or even rumblings generated outside their walls.

Public outcry has even forced outdoor restaurant and music venues to shut down operations.

In an Instagram post, Terra Philly announced on July 19 that it would shut down for the season due to increased noise complaints. “We worked both quickly and openly with both city and state officials to update our facility in a way that would allow us to continue operations. However, it seems a compromise could not be reached with our neighbors,” the post stated.

Health Department spokesperson James Garrow said a “warning letter” was issued to the Fishtown garden restaurant and outdoor music space after noise complaints were filed. The letter outlined the city’s noise and vibration law and noted a potential noncompliance fee of $300. But after an inspection was conducted on June 28, no violation was found, Garrow said. “Terra was not given a notice of violation or asked to close. If they have closed for the season, it was not due to Health Department action.”

Terra staff declined to make further statements, but confirmed there will be measurements in place to address the noise complaints ahead of the restaurant’s reopening next year.

Raheem Manning, the city’s first director of nighttime economy, said he doesn’t have economic data to illustrate how noise complaints affect nightlife revenue, and it’s not known if it does. But having met with nightlife mayors and directors in Austin, Pittsburgh, Amsterdam, and Berlin, he’s confident Philadelphia can be an international destination for its nightlife.

For Philly to contend with global nightlife destinations and minimize noise complaints, Manning, who was appointed nightlife mayor by Philadelphia’s Commerce Department in July 2022, said there needs to be a soundproofing fund, like in Berlin, which will shield venues from receiving noise complaints from new neighbors.

“An agent-of-change policy basically makes it so that whoever is new to the block is responsible for mitigating the sound,” Manning said. “If a club has been on the block for 20 years and a developer wants to build an apartment building across the street, it is on the developer to either soundproof the apartment building or they could soundproof the club, because the club was there first, the burden is not on the club.”

This story has been updated to clarify the details of the event at Cherry Street Pier, and provide a response from the venue.