Seeking ‘Best in Class’ noise reduction

A public interest group focused on reducing noise generated by airplanes said that airports like JFK and LaGuardia must monitor the aircraft and notify the airlines when recommended noise guidelines are exceeded.
Bob Whitehair, vice president of Queens Quiet Skies, addressed the Town and Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC) at Town of Hempstead Village Hall on May 19. “To provide Best in Class noise management, airports must merge noise monitor information, complaints, and radar tracks,” Whitehair said. “They must also provide real-time data for the benefit of both the airports and the public.”
Whitehair spoke regarding the airport noise study that Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year ordered the Port Authority to perform. The study remains in the planning stages. It is expected to determine the impact of aircraft noise on people living in the communities the airports. A level above 55 decibels is considered unhealthy.
Kendall Lampkin, TVASNAC’s executive director, was curious about the use of the “Best in Class” phrase and if that would affect funding of the study. “This is used in the manufacturing realm as the best of anything,” he said. “Can we coin this term as a standard way of saying that something like our study is the best option? Will the Best in Class measures allow for financial reimbursement?”
Whitehair said applying the phrase would identify the noise study as a solid plan that should be funded. “This terminology should not affect funding,” he said. “We should ask for it and get it.”
An estimated $6 million in federal money, split evenly between JFK and LaGuardia, is targeted for the noise studies at those airports.
A plane’s altitude and its impact on residents should be part of the study, according to Lawrence Quinn, the TVASNAC trustee representing Garden City. “We must get someone to reconfigure how the levels measure noise,” Quinn said. “If a plane flies over my house at 2,500 feet, I don’t care. If it flies over at 1,500 feet, I hear it. There is a huge world of difference between the levels.”