44 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH & WELLNESS • OCTOBER 18, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health & wellness
Congressman passes bill to reduce air
traffi c noise over northeast Queens
BY JOSH TOWNER
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
Several provisions in a new law that
the president signed this month aim to
reduce noise over the skies of Queens
and Long Island.
Congressman Tom Suozzi announced
that he secured several provisions in
the Federal Aviation Administration
Reauthorization Act, which the president
signed into law Oct. 5. Th e provisions are
designed to lower the amount of noise
pollution over his district, which covers
northeast Queens, northern Nassau and
northwestern Suff olk counties.
“Th e people of Long Island and
Queens deserve to live in peace and
quiet,” Suozzi said. “Today, we are taking
another step closer to mitigating aircraft
noise and improving quality of life
for those impacted by incessant aircraft
noise.”
Th e new legislation will require a multitude
of actions from the FAA, most
of which are research related. Th e FAA
will explore measuring sound in diff erent
ways, leading to new studies on the
impact of air traffi c noise on communities
and residents in terms of health
and economics. Th e studies will also
look into phasing out the loudest planes.
Th e FAA will review its community
involvement policies and appoint a new
community ombudsman to meet with
local community leaders and navigate
confl icts.
Additionally, the new legislation will
enforce the new, alternative North Shore
Helicopter Route, which will reduce
fl ights by an estimated 50 percent and
keep remaining fl ights at a much higher
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/xlibber
altitude. Airport operators must also
submit noise exposure maps when a
change in noise levels is expected.
Suozzi is the co-chair of the Quiet Skies
Caucus, a group of 41 Representatives
seeking to raise awareness of aircraft
noise and make meaningful solutions.
Health Dept. expands hours at Corona clinic to help end HIV epidemic
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
In honor of National Latinx AIDS
Awareness Day, representatives from
Th e New York City Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH) traveled
to the Corona Sexual Health Clinic
to announce two new steps in the city’s
quest to end the HIV epidemic in New
York by 2020.
¡Listos!, the Health Department’s fi rst
public awareness campaign to be largely
released in Spanish, will be getting a second
installment and the clinic, located on
Junction Boulevard and serving the most
Spanish-speakers out of the city’s eight
sexual health clinics, will now be open
fi ve days a week. It was previously only
open two.
Both eff orts are specifi cally geared
toward Latino men who engage in sexual
activity with other men (MSM) and are
part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Ending the
Epidemic plan.
Th e plan includes a $23 million investment
to reduce the number of new HIV
infections, improve viral suppression
rates and other health outcomes among
people with HIV, strengthen the city’s STI
prevention infrastructure and dismantle
HIV stigma – all using a racial justice and
health equity approach.
“As Latino gay and bisexual men,
at times we don’t have a voice,” said
Mauricio F. Espinoza, program coordinator
at Mount Sinai Institute for Advanced
Medicine. “But it is great to know that we
are not alone and that we have allies to
fi ght for us and provide us with new and
innovative ways to take care of ourselves
and our sexual health.”
Increased hours also mean increased
services at the Corona Sexual Health
Clinic. Patients at the clinic will now be
off ered same-day initiation of pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP), a safe, daily pill
that greatly reduces the risk of HIV infection.
Th e clinic also provides express STI
testing, immediate initiative to HIV medication,
counseling services and quick
access to contraception.
All of the city’s sexual health clinics
off er low- to no-cost sexual health
services to anyone 12 or older, regardless
of immigration status or insurance
coverage.
Th e number of newly diagnosed people
with HIV in the city is slowly going
down, according to numbers released by
the Health Department last year. But gay
and bisexual latino men make up a disproportionately
large number of newly
diagnosed HIV patients. In 2016, gay and
bisexual latino men accounted for 20 percent
of all new HIV diagnosis in New
York City, according to DOH.
“Not only does this eff ort provide a
practical medical response but it battles
the stigma and information gap which,
when it comes to HIV and AIDS, are
potentially deadly actors themselves,”
said Councilman Francisco Moya. Fear
and stigma still remain a major issue in
the HIV prevention and treatment.
New posters of embracing couples will
Photo courtesy of the Health Department
wallpaper subway stations soon in order
to encourage more New Yorkers to ask
themselves if they are ready to know their
status.
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