Aviation noise from New York City-bound planes has become the major complaint among Old Westbury residents, according to Deputy Mayor Leslie Fastenberg.
Since the village opened a section on its website for public comments, 75 percent of the complaints addressed the issue of plane noise, Fastenberg said.
“I’ve only been in office for 10 months and this has moved to the top of my list of problems that we have got to address,” Fastenberg said. “The groundswell of concern by our residents is shocking.”
Fastenberg said the noise was an issue for her as a homeowner in Old Westbury before she took office, and the problem could lead to decreased property values in the area.
“Everyone is complaining the planes are coming in lower and lower all the time,” Fastenberg said. “You can read the writing on the bottom of the plane sometimes. That’s too low.”
The trustees have been in contact with Rep. Grace Meng of the Sixth District, who is involved with legislation to resolve the issue, Fastenberg said. Meng raised concerns about a potential flight path change into Newark, which would increase air traffic over her district.
“I am dismayed at the possibility of more aircraft noise over Queens,” Meng said in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “In 2012, new flight patterns over Queens slapped increased airplane noise over our borough, a move that continues to ruin quality of life for Queens residents. We will not accept any new noise and we’ll do everything in our power, legislative and otherwise, to fight this plan should it negatively impact our borough. The FAA must immediately clarify whether this new plan for Newark Airport will cause any new aircraft noise over Queens.”
Meng, whose district encompasses northern Queens, has also been working with NASA on the development of technology to reduce plain noise, Fastenberg said.
“In Europe, airlines are fined if they don’t have sound attenuating technologies,” Fastenberg said. “These are the kinds of things we have to become aware of.”
Meng’s efforts paid off when Gov. Andrew Cuomo helped establish a roundtable dedicated to the issue with the Port Authority, according to a press release. Jordan Goldes, a spokesman for the FAA, said, “The group’s purpose is to address the ongoing and future concerns that residents of Queens and the New York metropolitan area have about noise and other airport issues that negatively affect their quality of life.”
Additional sound monitoring systems were also put in place to record accurate data about the airplane noise, Goldes said.
Recently, Mayor Fred Carillo wrote a letter to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano in support of East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz’s request to consider litigation against the FAA for the noise. Carillo wrote that noise has created “intolerable conditions that disrupts the quality of life of Old Westbury and East Hills residents.”
“I was thrilled that Mayor Carillo has joined Mayor Koblenz in that suit, and we’re going to stay on it aggressively, and make sure Old Westbury is represented at the table for these discussions,” Fastenberg said.
In addition to legal and legislative action, Fastenberg said there are immediate solutions which should be considered as well. Descending planes could come in at higher altitudes, and make their turns over water instead of land, Fastenberg said.
The issue has become highly politicized, but trustees are determined to gather support from both parties, Fastenberg said.
“As the members of the board we spend so much time looking next door to us. We’re concerned about the construction, your lighting, your drainage, but we never look up,” Fastenberg said. “So this is a whole new reality.”
