By Kelsey Durham
Residents in northeast Queens fighting the increase in airplane noise rejoiced this week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the Port Authority to complete a series of tasks intended to address their concerns.
In response to a growing number of complaints from homeowners, including many in Queens, Cuomo ordered the agency to double the number of portable noise monitors currently in place and more closely track any aircraft that violate the decibel limit so necessary fines can be enforced.
He also directed the Port Authority to begin carrying out a Part 150 noise study that he approved last November as a way to carefully look at how noise from nearby airports affects residents living around them.
Cuomo also urged the Port Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration to work together with concerned residents as decisions are made that will affect their communities in the future.
Janet McEneany, president of the Queens Quiet Skies advocacy group, said she and the other advocates fighting the increase in airplane noise were pleased to hear about Cuomo’s decision and praised him for not taking their concerns lightly.
“Overall, we’re very happy with the direction this is going,” she said on behalf of the northeast Queens group. “This will, for the first time, allow for public input, transparency and public participation in the decision-making.”
Residents in Queens, including Queens Quiet Skies members, have pushed for community involvement in a roundtable that would facilitate formal discussions and negotiations between the FAA and homeowners who say they are burdened by airplane noise in their neighborhoods. Cuomo’s directive requires the Port Authority to begin taking part in such meetings as early as April.
“Airport noise is rightly an important concern for residents of Queens, the Bronx and Nassau County, and that is why I am directing the Port Authority to open a full and thorough dialogue with the impacted communities while also pursuing a noise study to better address the issue,” Cuomo said. “We will listen to local residents and ensure their input is used to make both JFK and LaGuardia airports better neighbors.”
Aside from setting a goal of next month for the roundtables to begin, Cuomo’s directive did not provide a timetable for when he expected the Port Authority to have all studies and monitor installations complete.
But McEneany said she believes the Port Authority is getting ready to start the bidding process to find a contractor to conduct the study, and it will then take between 18 and 36 months to complete.
Officials from the Port Authority said they are committed to taking whatever steps are needed to address the concerns of those living around the city’s major airports.
“The Port Authority understands it must strive to be a good neighbor in the communities where its airports are located,” Port Authority Aviation Director Thomas Bosco said. “We will seek noise mitigation with the FAA where feasible.”
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
