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For more than two years, neighbors have complained of the excessive noise from as young people gather for nightlong parties, blasting music that can be heard and felt over a mile away. But the city has yet to successfully tackle the crisis.

Local leaders previously said they’d stop the noise, with the city even entering into a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to have Seattle Police and Seattle Parks clear out the rowdy partygoers. But one family says nothing is being done by either city council representative or Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell.

“Your silence speaks volumes. What are you and this city doing to stop this?” Ashley, a constituent, wrote to Rivera and her staff. “Today is the fourth day in a row that my house is vibrating from a mile away due to the music. This occurred all last weekend as well, proving your MOU an absolute failure.”

‘Law enforcement won’t enforce the actual law’

For Ashley and her husband Joe, living near Magnuson Park has been a total nightmare. They say the loud music is so intense that it rattles their windows and they can’t sleep or relax. The MOU? The couple says it’s not being enforced.

“I’m pretty f* sick of having to contact you because law enforcement won’t enforce the actual law. What is the point of having laws if no one enforces them or are laws only for a select few?” Ashley wrote to Rivera.

Over a roughly three week period in June, Ashley wrote to Rivera’s office for pleas of help. She said it’s been ongoing for two years, with little to no relief. In a June 13 email, she ripped Rivera for not getting back to her.

“Why are your constituents having to put up with this? Why is this not a priority? With the failed MOU, what is the next step? Jail, impounded vehicles? There are lots of solutions, but city leadership seems too scared to actually enforce the law,” she wrote.

No help in sight

A legislative aide from Rivera’s office responded on June 20th, apologizing for the delay, noting they have a staffing shortage and get “hundreds to thousands of emails a day.” He said they were working with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Mayor’s office, and suggested the couple report noise complaints to 911.

“We understand your frustration and are actively working with SPD and the Mayor’s office to best respond. The best thing you can do to help in these cases is to call 911 to report a noise violation to bring it to SPD’s attention. Given SPD’s staffing shortages—another critical issue this office is working to address—it may take some time for SPD to respond, so call in the noise complaint again after some time has passed to let them know it is ongoing,” the aide said.

But Angela and Joe have done this. Many times.

“If addressing safety and the outrageous parties is a priority at Magnuson Park, then why is this still an issue two years later? Make some arrests and impound vehicles. It is really not that hard to enforce the law. I’ve spoken to far too many people at SPD… Each SPD officer clearly states they can easily make this problem stop if local leadership would allow them to make arrests. So what and who is stopping SPD from doing their job?” Angela responded.

CM Rivera says she’s engaged

In an email to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, councilmember Rivera says she and her office are engaged on the issue and committed to finding a workable, long-term solution.

“I meet with the Mayor’s Office and the SPD Captain Davisson on a monthly basis to stay apprised of these efforts and other public safety issues in the district,” Rivera explained. “I know the Mayor’s Office is engaged in the ‘Summer of Safety’ at the parks plan and to continue to highlight Magnuson to them. Recently, I have not heard as many complaints or concerns related to Magnuson Park, but SPD would have a better report related to these calls.”

9-1-1 calls, however, are not a meaningful way to assess problems at Magnuson Park. Whether it’s around noise complaints at Magnuson Park or property damage or theft in Belltown or Capitol Hill, residents stop reporting low level crime to Seattle Police out of frustration that officers don’t respond. Staffing at the Seattle Police Department is at historic lows, with just 559 patrol officers and 837 total officers (which include detectives and sergeants) as of June 25, 2025.

“Seattle police officers are dispatched, and respond to, priority calls and life-saving emergencies (homicides, rapes, shootings, assaults, vehicle collisions, domestic violence incidents, medical emergencies, etc.) before responding to noise disturbances, which are lower priority-level calls,” a Seattle Police spokesperson explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Enforcement?

A Seattle Police spokesperson explains the MOU around Magnuson Park is in effect—but only on weekends from 8 p.m. to midnight. Park closures are the responsibility of the Parks Department, however, and only when “SPD has available overtime volunteers, we will place two officers there during this timeframe.”

But enforcement is inconsistent.

The staffing around the MOU is only on “a volunteer basis, and officers may choose work in other parks and in many other volunteer overtime positions throughout the city,” the spokesperson explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

And the couple is living with the real world consequences of inaction.

“It’s quality of life,” Ashley explained. “If my kids aren’t sleeping, we both have full time jobs and we’re not sleeping, so it’s absolutely affecting quality of life. And it should be such a simple implementation. Give them some citations, make some arrests, do something.”

Bruce Harrell lost their vote

The couple believes Mayor Harrell is not letting the police do their job. And neither Joe nor Ashley believe a solution is coming.

“I’m not expecting anything to happen. I have zero faith in them, actually,” Joe said. “You know, wanting to solve the issue, basically, from what we’ve been told, is to put pressure on our council, city council representative, put pressure on the mayor. And, obviously, our concerns are falling on deaf ears, and we’ve just come to the stark realization that it’s likely not going to get solved anytime soon.”

Ashley believes Harrell doesn’t want to enforce the law. The mayor has come under fire for inaction on homelessness, offering street lights and supporting sidewalks murals as a means to tackle the issue in downtown Seattle. It’s not working.

“I think they legitimately don’t want to enforce the law. I don’t even know what their priorities could be, to be brutally honest, but I just don’t think they have any interest in enforcing something or just keeping law and order. I think they have their own agenda that they want to live by, and we are not on that. And keeping tax paying law abiding constituents happy is not a priority.”

They say Harrell won’t be getting their vote in this upcoming election.

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