The residents‘ message was sent to the city representative, the health inspectorate and the police chief in Reykjavík. They say that the situation was bad before the corona virus epidemic, but after it intensified „one all-out outdoor festival around Austurstræti/Ingólfstorg that does nothing.“ The artist Sverrir Guðjónsson leads the group of residents who write the report.
Two places removed from parentheses
In the stanza, two places are taken out separately from brackets; Pablo Discobar in Veltusundi and American Bar in Austurstræti.
They are said to drive the strength to the bottom at open doors with „infra-bass“ that penetrates the halls and floors, beating the houses inside and out „with the thumping factory beat of a disc beater.“ Other restaurants in the area are also getting in on the act. They are said to have increased significantly in speakers that are attached to the outside of the houses.
The residents demand that sound meters be installed on the outside wall of the American Bar and Pablo Discobar, which will give a true picture of the noise pollution that occurs in the city center and keep the residents and hotel guests awake.
It is required that the Reykjavík Health Authority suspend or limit the activities of the two locations, as the acoustics of the premises are in no way compatible with the current activities. The owners have broken almost all the rules that apply to noise limits.
Gargandi made a noise making everyone mad
Kolbrún Baldursdóttir, city representative of the People’s Party, is a loyal supporter of the residents. In the minutes of yesterday’s city council meeting, she says that work in the city center will be disrupted due to noise.
Sources need to be used better and „this is the question of what politics wants to do, but the residents of the city center who live in the vicinity of discotheques have been run over for a long time.“ she uses clichés like „you knew what you were getting into when you bought real estate in town.“ She is not only rude but out of line.
The owners say „but we are running clubs“
Ingvar Svendsen, owner of American Bar, received the report from the Reykjavík Health Authority yesterday. He points out that they have taken down subwoofers during the corona virus outbreak and says that they are all willing to do better. However, it cannot be overlooked that they run a club in the center of Reykjavík and have all the necessary permits.
Jón Bjarni Steinsson, owner of Pablo Discobar, takes the same approach. They are ready to look at how to do better. He points out that the door to the club is on the first floor, but the place itself is on the third.
The venue plays disco music from the 80s and 90s, except on Thursday nights when there are Latin nights. He is primarily running a club and has all the required licenses for that.
The noise is not the main problem
Aðalgeir Ásvaldsson, executive director of the Association of Companies in the Restaurant Market or SVET, has sat in several consultation meetings about noise in the city center. At such a meeting, for example, statistics from the National Police Commissioner on noise complaints from Austurstræti between 2015 and 2022 were presented. „This is about one complaint a month.“
Aðalgeir questions whether this is a problem at all. At least there are no grounds for the residents‘ demand to close the positions. Dissatisfaction can possibly be attributed to the fact that people’s appetites are shorter after entertainment was down during the epidemic.
He believes that the main problem in the city center today is not noise, but that people find it difficult to get home after the party. Nætrstrætó is stopping and no one has picked up the 100 taxi licenses that were issued for the summer. „Unfortunately, this means that people are more likely to get behind the wheel or get home on electric scooters.“
