Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to conduct an airport noise and land compatibility study last week for LaGuardia and JFK airports, cutting through a more time-consuming legislative process to address widespread complaints from residents of Queens and Nassau County.
As he issued the order, Cuomo vetoed a bill calling for an airport study known as Part 150 that had passed both houses of the New York State Legislature but would have also required the approval of the New Jersey State Legislature to go forward.
“I recognize that aircraft noise has been a concern for residents of Queens County and Nassau County,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Therefore, rather than wait for New Jersey to enact companion legislation that would require Part 150 at all Port Authority airports, I am vetoing the bill but directing the Port Authority to conduct noise studies that will meet the requirements of Part 150 for LaGuardia and JFK airports.”
Cuomo also called for creation of a community roundtable for airport noise and related issues in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration.
State legislators, including state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) and state Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), who were among co-sponsors of bills that passed in the state Senate and the Assembly, responded enthusiastically to Cuomo’s action.
“We sent a message to the governor that we were not going to turn a deaf ear to airplane noise and he got that message. I want to thank local officials and community members who worked tirelessly to move this bill forward and, of course, thank the governor for seeing the need and addressing it,” Martins said.
“With the massive increase in air traffic over Long Island leading to an unacceptable rise in noise pollution, this study has to happen,” Ra said. “I thank the governor for acknowledging this serious quality-of-life issue for Long Island residents and calling for a study to be conducted.”
New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and representatives Steve Israel (D-Huntington) and Grace Meng (D-Flushing), who had called for the Port Authority to create a community roundtable to address the airport noise issue in July, also welcomed the news that Cuomo had directed the study be conduced and a community roundtable formed.
“Residents living among the highest air traffic in the country should have every opportunity to present their views to the appropriate authorities and a vehicle to gather information and hold people accountable,” Schumer said. “It’s good news that the Port Authority will soon establish an airplane noise roundtable so that those affected by the incessant sound of airplanes can finally voice their concerns to members of the aviation community.”
“This advisory committee that my colleagues and I pushed for will provide FAA another way of finding effective solutions to mitigating noise, which should provide some relief to Queens and Nassau County residents,” Gillibrand said.
Israel said, “The announcement that this roundtable will be formed is great news for New Yorkers in the metropolitan area, and I’m pleased our letter spurred action on Gov. Cuomo’s part.”
