Quantcast

Queens residents rally against airplane noise

By Alex Robinson

More than 300 Queensites came out to a rally at Cunningham Park Sunday afternoon to demand an end to the constant din emanating from airplanes traveling to and from the borough’s airports.

Advocacy group Queens Quiet Skies hosted the rally, which was attended by a long list of elected officials and community leaders, to put pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce air traffic and the noise that comes with it.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t watch TV. I can’t sit on my terrace,” said Susan Carroll, a Flushing resident and member of Queens Quiet Skies. “I have to keep the AC on even in cooler weather to drown out the noise.”

Protesters said the increasing amount of planes passing above them has made their suburban neighborhoods uninhabitable and has severely damaged their quality of life.

In November, Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated a series of roundtable discussions between residents, the PA and the FAA about the issue, and several meetings have been held since.

But Queens Quiet Skies has been disappointed with the format of the forums, as there have been separate meetings for each of the area’s major airports.

“In recent months, we have created noise roundtables to bring together the Federal Aviation Administration, the Port Authority, elected officials and community to discuss noise problems, unveiled a feature on the PA’s website that allows residents to track planes and decibel levels over their communities and deployed more noise monitors around both airports to help collect additional data,” said PA spokesman Ron Marsico. “Additionally, the agency is nearing selection of a consultant to help implement the governor’s request for federal Part 150 noise studies at both JFK and LaGuardia [airports] to determine what steps may be possible to help alleviate specific noise issues.”

The FAA said that while it has not made any changes to air traffic routes over the Nassau County-Queens border, there has been an increased usage of air traffic routes that go over some areas due to predominant winds from the north.

U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Steve Israel (D-Melville) announced at the rally that they have sent a letter, signed by 26 members of Congress, to the FAA calling for the national standard for noise levels to be lowered. The Congress members said the standard should be lowered from the current 65 decibel Day-Night Sound Level to 55 DNL.

“We are here to demand once and for all that the FAA enforce the law, maintain safe skies, but keep the peace on the ground,” Israel said. “Study after study has agreed the decibel level should be lowered. The longer the FAA waits, the louder it gets. Quit waiting. Quit studying. Give these communities the peace and the quiet they deserve once and for all.”

Carroll lives in an apartment building in Flushing, where the PA placed a noise monitor to collect data. She said it has broken down three times since it was installed and lost six days worth of data. It has also shown decibel level readings that are frequently in the 80s and 90s, she said.

“We deserve better,” Carroll said. “No one should be subjected to planes flying at low altitudes at one-minute intervals for 18 hours a day every day. Enough is enough.”

Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobi‌nson@‌cnglo‌cal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.