16 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 20, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
New study sheds light on Queens airplane noise and house sales
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As noise from LaGuardia and JFK
Airports continues bombard homes, a
new study from Localize Labs completed a
countdown of the 20 neighborhoods most
aff ected in the city with 16 of those communities
being in Queens.
Th e constant disruptions on the ground
from approach and departure vectors
introduced by FAA in 2012 caused an
uprising of residents on the ground who
have been advocating for relief for years.
Last Year, a study from Columbia
University showed that the anxiety and
depression likely caused by airplane noise
could be taking a year of life off of residents.
Now, Localize Labs is claiming that
it could be aff ecting home listings as well.
Brookville, Howard Beach and Flushing
had 96 percent, 88 percent and 66 percent
of homes respectively listed in noise-burdened
zones. Th is depicts a pattern of
people leaving for greener pastures.
Janet McEneaney, a founder of Queens
Quiet Skies, said she moved to Bayside
25 years ago to get away from the din of
the city.
“We can’t sleep. Our kids can’t study,”
McEneaney said. “If you’ve ever had a
really bad earache or toothache, that’s
what it feels like. While it’s happening, you
can’t think about anything else and you
just want it to go away.”
McEneaney claims she gets letters from
other residents who say they are settling
elsewhere for a little peace and quiet.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo said the
issue encouraged him to act on it through
legislation in Albany, having introduced
a bill on Friday that will enforce further
studies into the eff ects of airplane noise.
“Communities in areas around JFK and
LaGuardia airports have experienced a
declining quality of life as a result of noise
pollution and possibly other ill eff ects
from air traffi c patterns,” Addabbo said.
“Noise complaints in aff ected neighborhoods
have skyrocketed due to changing
air traffi c patterns and too many planes
fl ying on low approaches to these airports.
Th rough this study, we hope to develop
a comprehensive plan to address these
issues so the neighborhoods can experience
a better quality of life now and in
the future.”
According to Addabbo, the bill will
ask the Department of Environment
Conservation to monitor noise levels
throughout 2020 and 2021.
Leaders within the Federal Aviation
Administration gave members of the LGA
Airport Committee a vindicating dose of
confi rmation when they informed resident
lead roundtable that the TNNIS climb out
of LaGuardia Airport, a departure route
established in 2012, had been over utilized.
Th e FAA told residents that the departure
route will now only be used when airspace
between LaGuardia and JFK is full
and for other safety reasons.
Flushing man strikes
it rich on scratch-off
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
A Flushing man is the latest Queens
resident to win millions from the New
York Lottery.
Jason Pae, 27, won the guaranteed
$5,000,000 jackpot prize on the popular
“Set for Life” scratch-off ticket. Pae purchased
his winning “Set for Life” ticket
at the Maruti 149 Corporation on 41st
Street in Flushing while on his way home
from work.
“I was on my way home from work and
stopped at the deli for some Gatorade,”
explained Pae. “I scratched the ticket
in the store and my fi rst thought was
‘Wow!’”
According to the New York Lottery,
Pae is the 50th person to claim a prize
totaling $1,000,000 or more this year.
Pae chose to receive his prize money
in annual installments of $260,000
before withholdings and will receive a
net check totaling $164,590 annually for
the rest of his life.
As for what he’s going to do with his
newfound wealth? For Pae, the decision
was easy.
“First I plan to visit my family in
Korea. Th en I hope to start my own business,”
said Pae.
Th ere are currently three outstanding
top prizes available on the “Set for
Life” ticket.
Players may check the status of any
New York Lottery scratch-off game by
clicking the Instant Games Reports link
at nylottery.ny.gov.
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Townsend Harris ranks as top public
high school in New York state
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Report, a total of 1,109 students are currently
edavenport@qns.com
enrolled at the school with 55
@QNS
full-time teachers employed, off ering a
20:1 student-teacher ratio. Students at
A Flushing high school has been ranked
Townsend have a 100 percent rate of
as one of the best schools in the country in
12th grade students taking Advanced
2019, according to a report by U.S. News
Placement (AP) courses, with 97 percent
& World Report.
of the class earning a 3 or higher on
Out of over 17,000 high schools across
the AP test.
the country, Townsend Harris High
With a 99 percent graduation rate,
School ranked at No. 11 overall, earning
Townsend Harris students have a 99 percent
a score of 99.94 out of 100. Th e school,
ranking in mathematics profi ciency
located at 149-11 Melbourne Ave., also
and a 100 percent ranking in reading
ranked as No. 1 in New York state out of
profi ciency.
542 public schools.
Visit the U.S. News & World website to
According to U.S. News & World
learn more about the 2019 rankings.
Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Nuno Lopez via Flickr Creative Commons
/nylottery.ny.gov
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link