The Sweet Sound of Mr. Softee

Mr. Softee on the hotseat:

He was the star witness, and had come before the City Council to speak on one of the Bloomberg administration’s more controversial proposals. With the news media closely watching, James Conway Jr., the scion of the family that founded Mister Softee, had an admission to make: the Mister Softee ditty, a staple of urban summer, could be so annoying that even he would not want it playing outside his house all day.

“Does it get stuck in your head occasionally?” he said. “We hope so. But the Mister Softee song as a threat to the health and welfare of New Yorkers? I don’t think so.”

The jingle, with its lyrics, “Listen for my store on wheels, ding-a-ling down the street,” has become a flashpoint in the debate over revising the city’s noise code. From dogs that bark too long to nightclubs that draw neighbors’ complaints, the administration wants new restrictions, but it found wide-ranging opposition at yesterday’s City Council hearing.

Joining Mr. Softee in its opposition to the City’s proposed new restrictions was the New York Nightlife Association (NYNA), which worried that the changes would be too broad. That group’s name paled in comparison to the group in support of the proposals:

While the four-hour hearing was packed with critics of the city’s plan, there were also many supporters, including frustrated residents and members of a group known as Noise, which is short for Neighbors Against Noxious Odors, Incessant Sounds and Emissions.

Noise. Got that? Continuing:

But it was Mister Softee that drew the most interest. Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn told Mr. Tweedy: “You and the mayor are very bold taking on Mister Softee. You’re going to traumatize a lot of children in this city.”

Mr. Conway said that the current plan would not only silence the 347 Mister Softee trucks that operate in the city but also disappoint more than 120,000 customers. Instead, Mr. Conway proposed a compromise: stop the music only when trucks are parked for a certain length of time.

Anything more, he said, would cause sales to plummet.

“To get a sense of what this would do to us, remember when you were a kid,” he said. “You heard the jingle, you grabbed your money and you ran to the truck. The way you knew Mister Softee was in the neighborhood was the song.”

Bonus Points: Mr. Softee Theme Sheet Music.