[JPL] Musician Hits Sour Note

[Jazz Promo Services]

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/manhattan/2007/10/23/2007-10-23_after_ne
ighbors_complain_judge_tells_sax.html

After neighbors complain, judge tells saxophonist to get quiet or get gone


BY JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, October 23rd 2007, 4:06 PM

Thirty years ago Manhattan Plaza opened its doors in Hell's Kitchen as an
affordable, rent-subsidized haven for artists like respected saxophonist
David Schnitter.

But Schnitter now may be on the verge of eviction, he says, thanks to
neighbors who no longer embrace the vibrant spirit of the midtown apartment
complex.

Schnitter, 59, has been ordered by an administrative law judge to put a sock
in his horn. After noise complaints, he is banned from practicing in his
20th-floor apartment. If he doesn't comply, he's out in the street.

"I cannot hone my craft, and it will probably affect my earning a living,"
said Schnitter, who recently returned from a tour in Spain and performs for
the Sunday brunch crowd at Iridium.

"This building was given to artists, actors and musicians, but now the
yuppies are less tolerant of creative artists," he said.

Complaints about Schnitter started around 2004, alleging he made excessive
noise and fed pigeons from his terrace. Upstairs tenant David Fries
complained that Schnitter "often plays either the same note or the same
scale over and over again for 40 minutes," according to court papers.

Tenant Catherine Haase groused that Schnitter stretched his previously
allowed three hours of practice "over the whole day."

The judge disregarded neighbors who defended Schnitter and banished him to
the building's practice room, where he can only play for one hour daily.

"Although Schnitter was not evicted, we believe this is just another step
toward the gentrification of Manhattan Plaza, and that can only be
accomplished by first getting the musicians out of the building," said his
lawyer, Fred Lichtmacher. "This is a matter that concerns not only David
Schnitter but every performing artist in New York."

Another sax player in the building is so fearful of eviction he practices in
his car, Schnitter said.jmarzulli at nydailynews.com