Air traffic riles NHP residents, officials

Steve Smirti

Residents and New Hyde Park village officials revisited the increasing noise and traffic generated by both commercial jets and helicopters at Tuesday’s New Hyde Park Village Board Meeting.

“If they were up higher above to about 1,000 or 1,200 feet you would barely notice it,” New Hyde Park resident Edward Powers said of the helicopters. “With the way they’re coming one after another during the summer time to the Hamptons, but it’s a route they’re never going to get rid of but it shouldn’t be active when 22 left and right are active.”

The 22 left and right Powers referred to are landing strips at JFK Airport that use a route over New Hyde Park and East Williston during the aircraft’s descent into JFK. As previously reported by the New Hyde Park Courier, that runway has seen an increase in traffic over the past few years.

New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio said he witnessed several planes fly over Memorial Park recently in quick succession and was shocked by the noise they produced.

“They were in parallel patterns, one right after another. It’s less than a minute and a half apart,” he said.

According to Powers if the traffic flying into runway 22 decreased then the helicopters could fly at a higher altitude which would dramatically soften the noise level at 600 feet. 

“When [runway 22] is not active you can fly [the helicopters] at 1,200 feet and you barely here them,” Powers said. “The down force when they’re at 600 feet, it’s like night and day between that and 1,200 feet.”

Kurt Langjahr, New Hyde Park village director of environmental control, said some aircraft that are exempt to noise regulations, among them are military and police aircraft along with news organization aircrafts.

Langjahr suggested the burden should fall on JFK airport and it’s high demand for air travel.

“Kennedy airport is so overwhelmed,” Langjahr said. “It’s something like 3,000 flights a day. That’s 1,500 landings and 1,500 takeoffs. And it seems for the last couple of months we got them all.”

Lagjahr will represent New Hyde Park next Town Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee meeting on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stewart Manor Country Club.  

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