FAA Proposes Changes At Local Airports

Airports within the study area.

On Monday April 23 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) visited Elmhurst to host the first of five public information meetings dedicated to providing an understanding of proposed noise mitigation strategies and how they could be implemented along with the preferred alternative. The meeting at the La Guardia Airport Marriott Hotel was attended by area community leaders and lobbyists who have an interest in the proposed changes that might affect their communities. Representatives from Inwood, Harrison, New York and Floral Park, Long Island attended.

The meeting included an introductory video, an introduction by a project manager, an open forum discussion with subject matter experts and then finally a question and answer session. Attendees had an opportunity to make comments to FAA representatives on the proposed mitigation strategies.

The FAA plans to release a Mitigation Study later and will accept comments on those mitigation strategies through May 11. Information on the FAA study can be downloaded from the project Web site, www.faa.gov/nynjphlairspace_redesign/.

FAA Air Traffic Control proposed changes. Photos Dan Miller/DMD Images

In its effort to increase the efficiency and reliability of the airspace structure and Air Traffic Control (ATC) system while maintaining safety, the FAA has proposed to redesign the airspace for the following airports: LaGuardia, JFK, and Westchester in New York, Newark in New Jersey and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. To that end the FAA began a study in 1999 that has cost $50 million to improve air traffic and lower noise in areas affected by airline travel in the Northeastern United States.

Since the publishing of the FAA's first draft, more that 30 public meetings have taken place between February and May 2006. Both written and oral comments were collected at these meetings. In addition, comments were accepted via U.S. mail and by electronic submission.

Many attendees from the South Shore of Long Island were disturbed that there was no information about changes at JFK. Proposed changes at LaGuardia would include arrival and departure runway heading changes that would improve air traffic at the airport. There was little evidence that there would be any improvement in noise abatement as originally proposed as one of the outcomes of the planned changes.

Ranganatha R. Rao, a bridge specialist from Flushing, reviewed the presented material. "The changes should not have any impact on the bridges," he said. "None of the area bridges, the Whitestone, Triborough, Throgs Neck, and Brooklyn, none of them would be affected by the changes." He added, "These suspension bridges respond to high frequency vibrations. The planes do not emit these high frequencies."

However, he noted, "The whole purpose was to help the domestic airlines. These changes will have an impact on communities since there will be a higher volume of flights. They are dumping thousands and thousands of gallons of fuel over the land." That is where he felt there would be a negative impact on the communities near the airports, particularly those areas adjacent to the landing and departure headings at each airport. Queens is the only borough that has not one but two major airports dumping fuel over the homes and the residents.

Representatives of communities that would be affected by the proposed changes were not happy. One member of a Floral Park civic association commented, "Another $50 million disaster."- Dan Miller/DMD Communications