New Dept. of Transportation Study Predicts 14 Percent Noise Hike

The latest environmental findings were part of the two agencies legally-required noise impact assessment that was conducted "to quantify worst-case noise levels during the height of construction activities that would occur on the proposed Queens staging area adjacent to the school."
The 59-page study revealed that noise levels will jump over 14 percent (from 69 to 79 decibels), which the report calls "a doubling of loudness due to project-related construction activities."
Aimed at foreign-born high school students, the unique school has proven to be a wise educational investment worth protecting.
Its six percent drop-out rate is half the 12 percent borough average, while its steadily-rising graduation rate is higher than the borough average.
The school is located on 41 Ave., adjacent to the Sunnyside rail yard, in Long Island City, where the two federal and local transportation agencies are planning to construct a new tunnel, a new commuter station, and lay the groundwork for a possible hook-up with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains, that currently operate in Manhattan.
An estimated 15,000 Queens commuters will benefit from this project, which includes a new Sunnyside station in Long Island City, according to Pam Burford, the East Side Access director of Planning. Work on the giant $4.35 billion project is scheduled to begin late this year.
Anthony Japha, the Mtas chief program executive for the East side Project, said the MTA was committed to working with Newcomers high School to mitigate noise from the project during the three-year construction period.
The plan includes construction of sound insulating construction fencing and the installation of double-glazed windows, and air conditioning to shut out the noise during warmer weather.
The potential of the proposed remedies are mixed.
While a walled noise barrier would effectively mitigate the noise level increase for first-floor classrooms, the study revealed the wood-paneling would be relatively ineffective for students in the upper floors of the school.
There is also some concern that the current facilities of the 100-year-old high school building may be inadequate to operate air conditioning equipment.
Noisy classrooms are commonplace in Queens. For the last five decades, 300,000 Queens students, whose schools lie in the paths of airplanes, leaving and entering JFK and LaGuardia airports, have had to learn their lessons above droning airplanes.
They have benefited from special anti-noise equipment since 1983, when the Port Authority began installing double-thick windows and air conditioning equipment to help silence airport noise during the entire school year.