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Mister Softee Truck Jingle Driving New Yorkers Mad
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2009
Modified Mar 27, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2009
Modified Mar 27, 2009
Share
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The insipid melody blaring from Mister Softee ice "cream" trucks has Inwood up in arms. City officials say that so far this year there have been 205 complaints about ice cream trucks in the Community Board 12 district, which includes Inwood. One area by Inwood Hill Park is going particularly mental; a resident tells the Daily News, "It reverberates into the building and sounds like someone is in your apartment with their car stereo blasting. It's almost vindictive." New York City noise code bans the playing of jingles while a food vending vehicle is stationary, but the rule seems to be generally laughed off by the truck drivers.The DEP has sent inspectors to Inwood, and this week police told a community meeting they're looking into it. Another resident says the driver of the truck is simply merciless: "He will say he's going to turn it off, and when you walk away, five or 10 minutes later it's back on. It's the repetition as well as the melody itself. Even with the windows shut and your TV on, you can hear it." For more on the Mister Softee Jingle, here are the lyrics, sheet music, and an mp3.
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inwood
jingle
mister softee
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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