Mister Softee, beware. Starting this summer, the omnipresent jingle that means a roving ice cream truck is just around the corner will theoretically be heard less thanks to a new noise code, which took effect July 1. It specifically targets Mister Softee trucks, along with music blasters, barking dogs, and other chronic disturbances.

It’s the first major change to the code in 30 years.

According to the mayor’s office, noise complaints are the "number one quality of life issue for New York City residents." In 2005, the year the revision of the noise code was finally passed, the 311 hotline received over 335,000 clamor-related complaints. In 2007, Community Board 7 alone has had 6,357 noise complaints.

The end result appears to be that regulations will be stricter and more specific, while punishments will be more flexible and focused on mitigation rather than fines.

For example, the code now says that an animal cannot make noise for more than 10 minutes consecutively during the day or five minutes during the night, and it’s up to the owner to remedy this. The old code was vaguer, saying just that it would be a problem if the dog barked for an "unreasonable" amount of time.

Despite the greater clarity, how effective enforcement will be is still an open question.

A dog barking excessively, for example,  is "hard to enforce" said Lieutenant Charles Hammer, the daytime special projects officer at the 52nd Precinct.

Precincts will be armed with one or two decibel meters apiece but even those may not be a magic bullet. John Reilly, head of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, donated a  meter to the 52nd Precinct in the mid-1990s, in the interest of quieting things down around the organization’s many apartment buildings. Reilly said getting the meter calibrated every six months or so proved problematic, as was the fact that too few officers were trained to use it.

When summonses are issued, the code is fairly flexible, at least for first-time offenders. A barking-dog fine could be up to $175 for first-time offenders and up to $525 for repeat offenders, but in most cases the fine could be waived if a plan for reducing the sound is provided. "There are fines, but the real attempt is to mitigate it, to make it a little quieter," said Michael Saucier, the Department of Environmental Protection’s director of public affairs.

To avoid fines, construction sites and nightclubs that exceed the permitted decibel levels will have to take measures to mitigate the noise, like noise-muffling devices on jackhammers or heavy curtains for clubs.

As for Mister Softee, drivers  are not allowed to play their music when stopped. This is not sitting too well with local drivers of the ice cream trucks.

"It’s not fair for us," said Michael Ortiz, a Mr. Softee driver interviewed on his rounds in Norwood, who complained that turning off the music would make him invisible to residents inside their homes. "We’re gonna lose business."

Some of his customers aren’t buying it, though.

"It’s annoying to hear the music continuing on and on," said Letty, a local resident who didn’t give her last name, as she purchased some ice cream from Ortiz. "When you hear it coming, you’ll know it’s there."