When good fences are not enough, how to deal with your challenging neighbors

By Julie Philipp, Megan Mack, Julie Williams

Published July 7, 2026 at 2:04 PM EDT

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a bald man back left is wearing a blue police uniform; a man back right has short dark hair and is wearing a blue police uniform; a woman front left has long brown hair and is wearing eyeglasses, a light pink blouse, white pants and sandals; a woman front right is wearing her dark hair pulled back, a patterned blazer, dark khaki pants and black shoes; a woman at center has shoulder-length blonde hair and is wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, khaki pants and striped flats. — (foreground) Laura Fleming and Erica Hernandez, (background) Rob Wilson and David Marcucci with guest host Julie Philipp on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, July 7, 2026

A woman with long blonde hair sits in front of a microphone in a radio talk studio and wears a light blue button-down shirt. — Julie Philipp

We discuss how neighborhood conflicts tend to increase during the summer, when the windows are open and people are outside, and how to handle the most common problems.

We will talk about loud parties, fireworks, roaring motorcycles, BBQ smoke, barking dogs and more with the people whose job it is to help resolve issues like these.

In studio:

Laura Fleming, licensed clinical social worker
Erica Hernandez, director of neighborhood service centers in the department of neighborhood and business development for the city of Rochester
Deputy David Marcucci, public information officer for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Lieutenant Rob Wilson, Rochester Police Department