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Collections Citizens for a Quieter City records
 

Citizens for a Quieter City records

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Collection Data

Description
Citizens for a Quieter City was a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the reduction of urban noise. Founded by Robert Alex Baron, its objectives were to develop information about the injurious effect of noise; research methods of controlling and reducing it; and educate the public on the importance of its abatement. The Citizens for a Quieter City records (1950-1980) document the work of the organization through correspondence with government and private sector officials; sound and video recordings; meeting minutes; records of noise complaints; scrapbooks; financial records; posters; and published research and information on noise pollution. The collection also holds the records of the Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association and Robert Alex Baron's files regarding his job as general manager of Theatre Tours.
Names
Citizens for a Quieter City (Creator)
Baron, Robert Alex (Author)
Lindsay, John V. (John Vliet) (Author)
Theatre Tours (Contributor)
Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association (Contributor)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1950 - 1980
Library locations
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Shelf locator: MssCol 552
Topics
City noise -- New York (State) -- New York
Concorde (Jet transports)
Noise control
Noise pollution
Theater management
Social activists
Theatrical managers
Citizens for a Quieter City
Genres
Clippings
financial records
Correspondence
Minutes (Records)
Photographs
Posters
Scrapbooks
Notes
Biographical/historical: Citizens for a Quieter City, Inc. was a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the reduction of urban noise. Its objectives were to develop information about the injurious effect of noise; research methods of controlling and reducing it; and educate the public on the importance of its abatement. The organization was founded in New York City in September 1966 by Robert Alex Baron (1921-1980), a theatrical manager and general manager of Theatre Tours. In 1965, he founded the Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association, a predecessor organization.
Content: The Citizens for a Quieter City (CQC) records, dating from 1950 to 1980, document the work of the organization to raise general awareness of noise pollution and advocate for government and industry policies to mitigate it. The records contain Robert Alex Baron's correspondence; his datebooks and notebooks; CQC minutes and by-laws; noise complaints and reports; financial records; noise pollution inquiries; photographs; printed matter; scrapbooks; posters; unsorted papers; and sound and video recordings. The collection also holds the records of the Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association and Robert Alex Baron's files regarding his job as general manager of Theatre Tours. The Correspondence (1966-1974) consists of a subject file and a smaller chronological file. It includes Baron's correspondence with city, state, and federal officials; civic and community organizations; and manufacturers of construction equipment and noise abatement devices. Much of the correspondence relates to Project Quieter City, a program conducted by CQC which sought to survey the urban noise problem in the Lincoln Square area of Manhattan; there are also letters regarding the New York Conference on Urban Noise Control. Minutes and by-laws document meetings of the CQC board of directors and technical committee, and the structure of the CQC. The Datebooks and Notebooks (1970-1973) contain four desk diaries reflecting daily appointments of Baron and 10 notebooks of his memoranda. The Noise Complaint Reports (1969-1972) contain complaints received from the public, organized by type (traffic, aircraft, siren, etc.). The Financial Records contain invoices, petty cash accounting, balance sheets, audit reports, payroll tax forms, bank statements and cancelled checks. The Noise Pollution Inquiries contain forms summarizing the nature of correspondence inquiries received. The Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association records (1965-1966) including correspondence, minutes, and reports by Baron. The Photographs contain images of Baron alone and in groups, mainly at construction sites in New York City. The Theater Files (circa 1950-1960s) were generated by Baron during his job as general manager of Theatre Tours. The Sound and Video Recordings (1965-1978) document CQC meetings, conferences on noise pollution, public service announcements, radio and television news broadcasts about noise pollution, and public events in which CQS participated. They also hold recordings of different types of noise pollution in New York City. Some video content was produced by other organizations. Also present is a speech by Mayor John Lindsay on the state of New York City in 1942.
Acquisition: Donated by Robert Alex Baron, 1976
Content: Processing Information: Compiled by John D. Stinson; Revision History: Description revised by Matthew Snyder. (2020-05-08)
Physical Description
Extent: 36.0 linear feet (36 boxes, 1 container). 68 audio_recordings. 19 video_recordings
Slides
Type of Resource
Text
Still image
Moving image
Sound recording
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11652263
MSS Unit ID: 552
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 8e4470b0-b15b-013b-fddc-0242ac110003
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