Wilfredo Benitez loves living near the water. That’s why five years ago he moved to City Island in the Bronx. On sunny mornings, he likes to sit by the shore and soak up the serenity. And yet, he can never stay long. 

Benitez lives within earshot of Rodman’s Neck — a small peninsula in the Long Island Sound that the NYPD uses as a firing range. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rodman's Neck is a peninsula located on the Long Island Sound

  • The NYPD uses Rodman's Neck as a practice shooting range

  • City Island residents have been complaining about the sound of gunfire and bombs being detonated  for more than 30 years

  • Plans to build a permanent indoor shooting range have been postposed due to coronavirus and a fiscal crisis

“It’s a wonderful place to live. When we don’t have the gunfire going, it’s very peaceful,” said Rev. Wilfredo Benitez.

He says the barrage of bullets from the police training facility happens at least five days a week, from sun-up to sun-down. Sometimes bombs are detonated there, too.

“How do you explain to people that a bomb just went off that shook the whole house? That’s how powerful these bombs are,” said Benitez.

Even inside his apartment, with all the windows closed, he can’t escape the noise. Benitez is a reverend of an Episcopal Church in Connecticut. He says the gunfire makes it hard to meditate and write his sermons. He’s also a published photographer, who  makes prints from home. 

“It’s work that requires quiet and concentration. Too often the noise pollution coming from Rodman's Neck impacts that,” he said.

Benitez was so fed up with the noise, he wrote to Mayor de Blasio. He is not the first to do it. For years, people in this waterfront community have been complaining about the constant sound of guns blasting. 

“And nothing has happened,” added the reverend.  

Back in February, officers from the local precinct met with residents to announce a temporary solution by the end of 2021 and the construction of a permanent indoor shooting range within eight years.

The plan is now on pause, an NYPD spokeswoman told NY1.

“This project is on hold due to COVID and the current fiscal crisis. The final design is expected to include sound abatement measures,” the spokesperson said.

So for now, Benitez will try to drown out noise from gunshots and bomb blasts as best he can and savor the silence, when it occurs.