In a victory for all things delicious and annoying, the City Council and Mr. Softee came to a compromise over noise issues, a deal that will allow the ice cream trucks to blast their jingle while in motion, but shush them up while they're parked. If you don't recall the controversy that swirled (heh.) a year-and-a-half ago over the mayor's Softee crackdown, we direct you to Gothamist's coverage from that time. The new noise plan, which also features new regulations on barking dogs and garbage trucks, is expected to pass on Dec. 21. Oh, and in something far more relevant to the nature of this site, no overnight construction will be allowed, except for emergencies, public safety work, or where the builder faces "undue hardship."
This is surely good news for the Curbed reader who wrote us just last night to vent: "I've called 311 at least twelve times, and have been assured that the only way that 24-hour construction is allowed is for ConEd or Verizon emergencies. I don't think that the--yes--luxury condo going up opposite me qualifies. I asked the workers at one-thirty in the morning if they were aware that this was illegal, and their response was 'Yeah, of course it is, but we do what the boss says.'"
· That Jingle of Mr. Softee's? It's the Sound of Compromise [NYTimes]