Approximately $3.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation has been allocated for a study to analyze aircraft noise in the Queens and Nassau County communities surrounding John F. Kennedy Airport, where use of its takeoff and landing routes during overnight hours have drawn frequent complaints from area residents.
Announced in a joint news release by U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democrats urge the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to expedite the completion of the study, which would identify areas surrounding the airport most susceptible to noise and create a plan to mitigate noise that may be eligible for federal funding.
Schumer in a statement said the study “will finally elevate the best ways to address noise impacts in the communities surrounding JFK airport in both Queens and Nassau.”
The study would be comprised of various public outreach initiatives, including public meetings and hearings, aimed at understanding the locations near the airport with the highest concentration of noise and finding alternative procedures for limiting sound.
The California-based environmental consulting firm Environmental Science Associates was awarded an $8 million contract last year to conduct the study, which was due to take place between October 2014 and August 2017.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013 directed the Port Authority to begin a study after legislation was proposed and approved by the state Assembly and Senate calling for the study.
Cuomo vetoed the bill at the time because the law would have required the approval of the New Jersey state Legislature, and the governor said at the time he did not want to wait for the companion legislation.
In August 2014, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) called upon the FAA to curtail the number of flights using JFK runways 22L and 22R — the prime source of complaints because planes cross Nassau County and Queens — and threatened to cut funding for the agency if plans to begin a noise study floundered.
Israel and then-U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) in late September joined a federal caucus addressing aircraft noise and pollution throughout the United States.
In addition to the study, the Port Authority has installed a flight-tracking system on its website so residents can follow flight paths and the decibel levels of aircraft passing over their communities, officials said.
The agency also plans to double the number of noise monitors at JFK and LaGuardia airports.
