4 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
West Queens
gets e-waste
collections
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@QNS
Staring Oct. 1, the Department of
Sanitation (DSNY) will expand its electronic
waste recycling pickup service to
include western Queens.
Services will also expand to southern
Brooklyn. Although DSNY has electronic
waste drop-off sites in all fi ve of
the city’s boroughs, pick up service is
only currently off ered on Staten Island
and in northern Brooklyn.
One of the fastest growing environmental
problems of the last decade has
been electronic waste, as the number
electronics pumped into the market
increases rapidly. Many of the devices
eventually piling up in landfi lls contain
small amounts of toxic material which
most disposal systems and landfi lls are
not designed to handle. According to
the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), only 12.5 percent of e-waste
is recycled every year in the United
States.
Many electronics also contain small
amounts of gold, platinum, copper,
titanium, silver and other precious
raw materials that are lost if thrown
into traditional landfi lls. According to
reporting conducted by the Atlantic,
one ton of electronic waste could yield
200 grams of gold.
In New York City, eff orts to manage
electronic waste began under
Mayor Bloomberg. Now DSNY is taking
further steps to combat the city’s
e-waste problem and protect the environment.
If residents wish to have DSNY pick
up old electronics they must fi rst call to
make an appointment by either calling
311 or going to the city’s website, nyc.
gov/electronics.
Pickups will happen from Monday
through Friday with the exception of
city holidays. All waste must be put on
the curb aft er 4 p.m. the night before
the scheduled pickup since DSNY
employees will not ring doorbells nor
will they come inside of homes. DSNY
recommends that those who wish to
dispose of their electronics erase all
passwords and personal information
from them before doing so.
Photos by the 109th Precinct Community Council
Local precinct to hold annual Family
Fun Day event in Whitestone
BY JENNA BAGCAL
From noon to 4 p.m., guests are invited
infl atables, a pumpkin patch and the
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
to come to the park for free food, games
chance to meet Mr. and Mrs. Met, mascots
and giveaways.
of the New York Mets baseball team.
Come out for an aft ernoon of free fun
Offi cers from the 109th Precinct as well
In past years, thousands of attendees have
in Whitestone this weekend.
as local civic leaders will be available that
come out to experience this free day of
On Saturday, Sept. 22, the 109th Police
day for meet-and-greets. Th ose interested
family fun.
Precinct will be holding their fi ft h annual
can learn diff erent ways about how to get
Family Fun Day is a collaboration
Family Fun Day event at Francis Lewis
civically involved in their communities.
between the 109th Precinct, the 109th
Park, located on Th ird Avenue between
Th e event will feature several family
Precinct Community Council and the We
Parsons Boulevard and 147th Street.
friendly activities including pony rides,
Love Whitestone Civic Association.
Meng calls on feds to eliminate noisy LaGuardia Airport fl ight pattern
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
It’s time for the federal government to
serve up a solution to loud takeoff s from
LaGuardia Airport, according to Queens
Congresswoman Grace Meng.
Earlier this month, Meng wrote to
the U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine
Chao, asking her to eliminate the TNNIS
Climb fl ight pattern, with fl ights operating
on LGA Runway 13 from 6 a.m. to
noon and again from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Th e year-round use of the TNNIS
Climb was brought about by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2012
due to the implementation of NextGen
in New York City. Before then, the fl ight
pattern was only used during the U.S.
Open.
In her letter, the congresswoman referenced
a case study called “Th e Trade-Off
between Optimizing Flight Patterns and
Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft
Noise in Queens, NY, USA” that detailed
the negative impacts the fl ight pattern has
on borough residents. Th e study said that
those living within Community Boards
7 and 11 were especially susceptible to
health issues including cardiovascular
disease, anxiety and in some cases, premature
death.
“Th is study further illustrates the need
to get rid of the TNNIS Climb,” Meng
said. ”Th e route has unfairly burdened
our borough with blistering aircraft noise
ever since it was implemented by the
FAA in 2012, and this study conf
i r m s
our suspicions
about the adverse health
impacts it has on Queens residents. I
have met with Secretary Chao and
explained to her the importance
of combating the excessive
airplane noise over Queens. Now,
in light of this new study, she must take
action. I truly hope that she’ll be our partner
in this fi ght, and provide us with the
relief we desperately need.”
In addition to eliminating TNNIS
Climb, Meng also urged Chao to release
the results from the National Aircraft
Annoyance Survey, release underlying
data generated by the Annoyance Survey,
include community members
as members on the NextGen
Advisory Committee (NAC)
and information about NAC’s
plans to improve operational
performance in the Northeast
Corridor.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/xlibber
A spokesperson from
the congresswoman’s
offi ce said that they have not yet received
a response from Secretary Chao about the
fl ight path.
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