Noise Levels in 11559, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across 11559
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
5,050
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
66% of 11559 residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 11559 at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 5,050 11559 residents, or 66.0%, live above that level. By land area, 61.1% of 11559 is above 55 dBA.
38.9% below 55 dBA
61.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 11559 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 11559
Average noise levels for 11559 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 11559. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 11559; the lowest is in southeastern 11559, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 11559
64.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western 11559
62.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern 11559
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern 11559
54.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 11559
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 11559 sounds about 139% louder than in southeastern 11559, a 12.6 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from Broadway do you need to be?
Broadway produces an estimated 60 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 25% of 11559 sits under tree canopy (about average for zip codes) and roughly 45% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 11559. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
Airport Noise
John F Kennedy International (JFK) sits northwest of 11559. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 60 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 11559, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 11559
The bar chart below shows the share of 11559 residents in each noise band. About 30% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 11559 Compares
11559 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 11559's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 11516, 11096, 11557, and 11558.
Average noise level (dBA)
11559's 57.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 11559 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 66.0% of 11559 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 61.1% of 11559's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 11559
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from Broadway and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 25% of 11559 is under tree cover (about average for zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-intensity developed land. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
- Airport noise is directional. John F Kennedy International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
