Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mr. Softee Song Annoying? You Don't Say!
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 27, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 27, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The biggest revelation from yesterday's City Counil hearing on the noise ban was that even Mr. Softee owner James Conway Jr. thinks the Mr. Softee song is annoying! He told the City Council, "I have four children, and if you pull up a truck in my neighborhood, I wouldn't want it to be there playing music over and over again, either." The NY Times calls the Mr. Softee song a "flashpoint" in the noise code debate. Conway is offering to turn the jingle off in the trucks once they are parked for a period of time, linking the playing of the song to his company livelihood, saying, "Does it get stuck in your head occasionally? We hope so. But the Mister Softee song as a threat to the health and welfare of New Yorkers? I don't think so." Yes. Gothamist would rather start a ban on "Who Let the Dogs Out" during baseball games, because that song kills us. Anyway, one city councilman said that not playing the song would traumatize children (ahem) and the Mayor didn't have a response but his press secretary told the Post: "The mayor likes Mr. Softee's ice cream and his attitude." And what an attitude it is - that saucy "come hither and try my ice cream" stare... oh, wait, does Mayor Bloomberg like Mr. Softee the imaginary figurehead of the company or was he calling Mr. Conway Mr. Softee? So many questions!
Other people were questioning the noise, including club owners, but Gothamist was tickled by this description:
City Council member Margarita Lopez, who represents the Lower East Side, a neighborhood in which the concentration of bars and nightclubs is among the heaviest in the city, asked darkly: "Don't you understand that you are threatening the fiber of my community?"
That's it: The fiber of the Lower East Side Community is made up of alcohol and music.
Tagged
alcohol
bars
baseball
bloomberg
children
city
City Council
community
dogs
east side
games
gothamist
health
ice cream
Jr.
Lower East
Lower East Side
mayor
mayor bloomberg
mister softee
Music
new york
new york region
new york times
new yorkers
News: NYC
ny times
people
the city
The New York
the new york times
York Region
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .