By Bill Parry
Airplane noise has become such a quality-of-life issue around Jackson Heights that a group of elected officials is hosting a town hall on the subject Sunday, Oct. 18.
Residents will have the opportunity to sound off about living along the flight paths to and from LaGuardia Airport as well as voice their concerns about the upcoming multibillion-dollar renovation project.
Airport noise has become so bad in Jackson Heights that more than 1,290 households filed complaints last year, the most of any neighborhood in New York or New Jersey, according to Port Authority data. People can make repeated complaints, but the Port Authority counts the household only once.
The Port Authority will attend the town hall meeting. The Federal Aviation Administration has been invited, but the agency has not confirmed yet.
“Unfortunately, aircraft noise pollution continues to burden the neighborhoods that surround our airports—posing health risks, disrupting student learning and deteriorating their overall quality of life,” U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) said. “There are steps we can take to reduce its impact but engaging our community is a key step in the process. That’s why I’m partnering up with our local elected officials to co-host this town hall and offer Queens residents an opportunity to share their concerns and discuss them with agency officials as we work to find meaningful solutions to the problem.”
The town hall will take place in the PS 69 auditorium at 3 p.m. The school is located at 77-02 37th Ave. and the meeting is open to residents of any neighborhood in Queens. City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-East Elmhurst), state Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-East Elmhurst) and state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) will all attend.
“As elected officials, we organized a meeting so area residents and neighbors can share their concerns and complaints,” Peralta said. “Although this is a federal and not a state issue, we take all complaints that affect our constituents quality of life seriously. This is an issue that must be addressed quickly, and hopefully all those involved can come up with a solution to reduce noise while maintaining a high quality service for passengers at LaGuardia.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
