Lizette Cobb wasn't sure how to kill the stench of boiled crawfish shells that someone dumped in front of her house.

She tried cat litter. It helped a little.

It was Monday, the worst day for street trash and litter after a weekend of partying along Emancipation Avenue in Third Ward. Clubs and bars open at midday and pack in patrons until 2 a.m. closing. The revelry spills into the streets, where traffic is stalled as hundreds of people crowd the area like a sold-out concert hall.

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Residents pray that no one has a medical emergency; ambulances would have no luck getting through the traffic.

NOISE DATA: How loud is your Houston neighborhood? Search our map of noise complaints to see.

Living in a residential neighborhood that has become a hot spot for clubs and bars catering to people intent on partying with reckless abandon has become a nightmare for Cobb and many other longtime residents, including my family.

This is the first column in a series about the issue that plagues neighborhoods across Houston. I talked with residents, elected officials, law enforcement and business owners about the scope of the problem and how they're addressing it. In a city with no zoning and stretched resources, finding solutions isn't easy.

Meanwhile, the summer party season is in full swing in Third Ward.

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Lizette Cobb stands on Emancipation Ave. where complaints of noise around the nightclubs is disturbing the surrounding neighborhood in Houston, Thursday, June 26, 2025.

Music booming from inside clubs reverberates into homes nearby, rattling walls and waking residents. Food trucks that may or may not have proper city permits line up to sell entrees and snacks. Because most of the bars on Emancipation have scarce parking, which seems like a city code violation, people park on residential blocks that have permitted parking indicated by signage. Some are bold enough to park in front of private driveways, blocking in residents.

When the bars close, patrons find their way back to their cars. Some of them are drunk; some are tired. Others aren't ready for........

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