By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — The ubiquitous sound of a tour guide regaling tourists with city lore from their perch on the second tier of a brightly-colored bus is about to become a relic of the past.
The City Council voted to silence hundreds of city tour buses Thursday, passing a bill that forces operators to replace loudspeaker systems with headsets for their riders.
Operators of the city's approximately 170 open-air sightseeing buses will be forced to install headphone systems by July 2015, or risk fines and losing their licenses.
"The council had been for quite some time hearing many, many complaints of noise," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at City Hall before the vote.
While tourism is vital to New York, she said, "We can't neglect that the tourists come to a city where in all neighborhoods people live.”
Those who live in the buses' paths say hearing the commentary loop over and over is maddening.
"These guys are 15 to 20 feet from your window,” said Bob Gormley, district manager of Manhattan's Community Board 2 in the West Village. “It's like the guy with the speaker is right inside your building. It's a quality of life issue."
In 2008, CB12 passed a resolution urging the Council to regulate tour buses, complaining that the noise “disturbs people's peaceful enjoyment of their homes” and ”threatens their health and well-being.”
But David Chien, who represents Twin America, which owns Gray Line New York and City Sights, two of the city’s most recognizable bus companies, said the industry has been unfairly targeted.
“We feel that double-decker bus companies are being singled out for all the noise in this city,” he said. “We were in complete shock.”
He said that forcing tourists to use headphones will diminish the tour bus experience, blocking out city sounds and limiting conversation.
Retrofitting his buses will also cost an estimated $5 million, he said.
Tour guide Mario Diaz agreed that the buses' loudspeakers will be sorely missed.
“It makes a big difference,” said Diaz, standing on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, waiting for passengers to arrive.
“When you have somebody live telling you it becomes more personal,” he said.
Council Member Gale Brewer acknowledged that tour bus operators are unhappy with the measure, but said she hopes they will "come around."
Council members also said they are confident that the bill will not jeopardize the jobs of the city's tour guides, since live guides are a big draws.
"It's good for tourism, it's good for tour guides, it's good for our great city," Brewer said of the bill.
