Report finds ‘significant’ levels of aircraft noise in northeast Queens www.qns.com | september 2016 | CRYDER POINT COURIER 15 By Suzanne Monteverdi smonteverdi@qns.com/@smont76 Northeast Queens residents have long claimed that noisy airplane traffic has increased in their neighborhoods, and now they have the data to back it. Earlier this year, Queens Quiet Skies, a group formed to study and combat the increase in disruptive air traffic, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Federal Aviation Administration to release data detailing the history of LaGuardia Airport flight patterns and runway usage. Brian Will, vice president of Queens Quiet Skies, has analyzed the data from the FOIA request, and revealed his findings in a press conference at state Senator Tony Avella‘s Bayside office on Tuesday, Aug. 30. “Northeast Queens, in 2002, had 57,000 departures over it,” Will said. “By 2016, we are on pace for over 100,000 departures.” Findings also revealed that northeast Queens is not the only section of the borough that has seen an increase in flight traffic over recent years. “Jackson Heights has had a seven fold increase in departures — mostly on weekends,” Will added. “This is just staggering. And we’re getting it straight from the Port Authority.” Will clarified that the Port Authority does own the airport and maintain the runways, but they are not in charge of directing the flight plans. That responsibility belongs to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “When we talk to the FAA, they say that this because of wind and weather,” Will said. “No. This is an operational change. Prevailing winds have not changed in the last 14 years.” Alternatively, Will attributed the growth in airplane traffic over the area to an increased use of Runway 13, which runs two primary departure routes: the Whitestone Climb and the Tennis Climb, which was originally created to divert air traffic away from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing during the U.S. Open. “They say nothing has changed,but it has changed, and their own data says it,” Will continued. “I won’t say that they’re lying, but they’re not being quite honest.” One local civic leader agreed that something had to be done to finally address aircraft noise over local skies. “This is such a serious problem in our community, with the noise and the pollution from the airplanes,”said Henry Euler, first vice president of the Auburndale Improvement Association and a Bayside resident. Closing the conference, Avella urged the community to continue voicing their concerns about the increased air traffic and the effects it may be having on their quality of life. “We all felt we were getting more airplane noise over this community.Now the records show it,” Avella said. “Whether it’s northeast Queens — my district — southeast Queens,Nassau, Brooklyn, the Bronx: we’re all getting this problem. … And it’s only gonna get worse if we don’t finally stamp our feet and say, ‘Hey, wait a second. You’re gonna have to deal with us.’” QNS.com iS the New deStiNatioN for everythiNg QueeNS! BreakiNg NewS free claSSifiedS iNteractive eveNtS caleNdar coNNect with your commuNity oN NeighBorhood PageS Photo: Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER Senator Avella discussing findings from the data provided by the Port Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration.
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