Legislation calls for a second plane noise study

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After stating that the impact of plane noise on the health and environment is a top issue for the residents in his district, Assemblyman Brian Curran (Republican, Lynbrook) introduced legislation last week requiring the New York State Departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation to examine and report on the effects of air traffic from John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.

The legislation was prompted by Curran’s disappointment with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Part 150 Study, which is examining the impact of plane noise in areas within the flight paths of JFK and LaGuardia. The study excludes most parts of Long Island from its research because many of the Island’s plane noise monitors —which measure plane sound intensity — have shown the day-night average sound levels to be below the Federal Aviation Administration’s definition of significant noise — about 65 decibels.

However, the decibel level the monitors are reporting is distorted, Malvernite Larry Hoppenhauer has told the Herald in the past, because of how the numbers are tabulated. “They’re averaging things out over a year’s time, so everything’s watered down,” said Hoppenhauer, Malverne’s representative on the Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee.

Nassau County communities are also excluded from the FAA’s roundtable discussions on plane noise, Curran said. The roundtables, which were mandated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014 and first met in 2015, were charged with providing an ongoing opportunity for the Port Authority, the FAA and the community to manage noise impacts and provide updates while the separate Part 150 noise study was under way.

“I believe that there is increased noise pollution in our area due to the overuse of certain runways, and that plane traffic is becoming an increasing problem,” Curran said. “You cannot go outside in Lynbrook or Malverne and say there is not an increase in air traffic over those areas. This is a legitimate health problem that should be looked at.”

Curran’s legislation calls on the DEC with assistance from the DOT to conduct a study on the environmental noise and its health impact in areas that are adjacent to the two airports’ flight paths. He is proposing that the study begin monitoring noise levels in 2018 and 2019, paying particular attention to air and noise pollution, and emissions — and their impact of quality of life, health and property values.

Malvernite Elaine Miller, a co-founder of PlaneSense for Long Island, applauded Curran’s legislation. “We cannot rely on the false narrative put forth by the FAA that NextGen has ‘no significant impact’ when they did not conduct an environmental study on the deleterious effects on our health and the increase of dangerous air pollutants,” she said. “The residents who are living under flight paths which are designed to fly planes at low altitudes and in a continuous path are entitled to know the dangers to which they are exposed.”

Two community roundtables will be held later this month to address plane noise from LaGuardia and JFK. LaGuardia’s will be Wednesday, June 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Adria Hotel and Conference Center at 221-17 Northern Blvd. in Bayside. JFK’s will be held Wednesday, June 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Police Substation at Green Acres Mall, 2034 Green Acres Mall, Sunrise Highway, Valley Stream.