Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook

Oct. 27-Nov. 3, 2016

Posted

FAA should reduce flight noise threshold

To the Editor:

We call on the Federal Aviation Administration to adopt a lower airplane noise threshold to address health, environmental and quality-of-life concerns in communities near major airports.

The FAA uses the Day-Night Average Sound Level as the metric for quantifying exposure to aviation noise, and has set 65 decibels as the DNL value at which federal funding will be available for soundproofing or other noise mitigation. In a recent letter to FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta, we noted that because the DNL represents average noise levels over a 24-hour period, it does not account for increased concentrations of daytime flights if there is a comparable decrease in the number of nighttime flights.

We represent many Nassau County communities that lie directly beneath the pathways of departing and approaching flights from Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. We believe that the 65-decibel DNL threshold relies on outdated research that does not adequately consider the comprehensive effects of excessive exposure to high noise levels on people, and we are urging the FAA to lower the acceptable DNL threshold to 55 decibels.

Excessive airplane noise is a serious problem that affects the health and quality of life of many residents in our district, and it’s a problem that’s only getting worse. We can and must take action to provide relief to residents and business owners who are constantly exposed to high levels of airplane noise. All one has to do is spend five minutes in Malverne or any of several other South Shore communities to know that that this noise is excessive.

We urge the FAA to listen to the concerns of our constituents and take immediate steps to adopt a lower DNL threshold.

Kathleen Rice

U.S. representative, 4th District

Todd Kaminsky

State senator, 9th District