http://www.bostonherlad.com/news/pol...icleid=1210515
Councilor to sink battleship complaints
A Boston city councilor is fired up over attempts by high-end condo owners to muzzle Old Ironsides’ twice-daily cannon blasts, calling their complaints of excessive noise “absolutely ridiculous” and vowing to push for a city resolution to support the time-honored tradition.
"Old Ironsides is part of Boston history,” said Councilor Sal LaMattina, who represents Charlestown, where several residents in a swanky condominium development near the Naval Yard have launched a letter-writing campaign to silence the 44-gun frigate’s cannon salutes.
The Herald reported on Saturday that the 204-foot-long vessel, formally called the USS Constitution, is under attack by residents in a nearby condo complex for being an ear-sore.
The homeowners have pleaded with the commanding officer of the nation’s oldest commissioned navel vessel to eliminate the cannon blasts on weekends, reduce the amount of gunpowder charge used at other times and lower the volume of recorded playings of the national anthem during daily flag raising and lowering ceremonies.
The three-masted heavy frigate, built in Boston, launched in 1797 and named by President George Washington, saw action against the French, Barbary pirates and the British in the War of 1812, when its crew captured five British warships.
The tradition of its daily gun salute, which dates to 1798, was halted in the early 1900s but then revived in 1975. It requires naval officers serving on the ship to fire one of its working guns every day at 8 a.m. and again at sunset.
In letters written to Commanding Officer Timothy Cooper, neighbors called the noise of the cannon blasts “excessive” and “disruptive to the neighborhood.”
“Over the summer, we have entertained several times, and we have had guests sit up in shock when the cannon goes off,” wrote one resident. “It has also awakened them at 8 a.m. while they are vacationing and then blasted them again at sunset.”
LaMattina has little sympathy for the residents and said he plans to file an order before the City Council seeking to throw its support behind the naval tradition.
“You are moving into a Navy Yard. Come on,” LaMattina said. “I would imagine them knowing about the Constitution being there . . . It’s absolutely ridiculous that people are complaining of Old Ironsides shooting the cannons."