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We live in a 2-story garden apartment in NJ. We’ve lived in this apartment for a long time now; 14 years. We live on the second floor and we’ve had many different neighbors over the years, both below us and to both sides of our apartment.

But anyway, my story is a little different than most here.

Recently, new tenants moved to the upstairs apartment to the side of ours. We’ve had four different tenants living in that apartment since we’ve been here. Never a problem.

When I first set eyes on the guy, I guess he’s in his mid-forties, he just reminded me of a grumpy and somewhat miserable-looking man. I smiled and said hello and he just kinda frowned and grunted. OK.. whatever, I thought.

Anyway, they’re really quiet. For the first two weeks after they moved in, we didn’t hear anything, which is a blessing. Next I knew, we’re sitting in the living room, watching TV, and very loud banging starts on the wall. It scared the crap outta me, but I thought that they were hanging pictures.

During the next few days, the banging became a habit and I finally wondered if they were trying to tell us that WE were being too loud. We weren’t though. We were watching TV, at a normal volume, at a reasonable time… say 8PM.

Anyway, I ignored the banging; the guy really does seem a bit odd. I turned the TV a little lower, but it wasn’t loud in the first place.

Last night, at 8PM, the banging starts again (this is probably the 4th time now, and he’s clearly gotten more comfortable doing it). We were watching CNN. No explosions, no loud music, no thunderous bass, nothing obnoxious. Again, normal TV volume. Next I know, someone starts frantically ringing my doorbell. I knew it must have been him, but I didn’t answer the door. The WAY he was ringing the bell just sounded weird. Like it was an emergency.

Today I get a visit from the Superintendent, and the guy next door complained about US. According to the Super, he claimed that he “hasn’t been able to sleep a single night” since he’s moved in. This is just ridiculous and it’s clear that this guy is going to be a big problem. We go to bed at 11PM, we rarely play music, and when we do never after 10PM. After 10PM, we’re quiet as a mouse, even on the weekends. We’ve always been very respectful to our neighbors hoping they would respect that and return the favor.

We’ve never had a complaint from anyone since we’ve been here (because there was NO reason for anyone to complain)… and this guy is complaining about “noise” at 8PM? Are we not supposed to watch TV now that he’s moved in??

Anyway, I’m pretty pissed. I guess some people have to realize that they are living in an APARTMENT with others living around them. It’s not like living in a private home where you can control all the sounds that may go on if you want to. In an apartment, it’s normal to hear sounds from other tenants. Our sounds are typical, nothing out of the ordinary at all.

This guy’s gonna be a royal P.I.T.A.!! I can’t stand him already, and I don’t even know his name yet.