The city is phasing out its familiar-sounding police sirens and replacing the noise with a system that whoops and vibrates.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a siren system called "the Rumbler" will be installed in all new police vehicles. It emits woofer-driven sound waves that can be felt as well as heard.
Police have been using the Rumbler since October 2009 in a pilot project.
Robert Martinez, the NYPD's director of fleet service, said officials were initially concerned about how New Yorkers would react to feeling the sound waves. But officers have received few complaints, he told the Journal.
He said the new system emits a lower decibel rating than the sirens now in use.
One anti-noise group disagrees. Richard Tur, founder of NoiseOff, told the newspaper that the technology is similar to the bass in car stereos and is likely to bother residents.
