By John Borrelli and Leslie Gonzalez
Noise from above: the good news
Community groups like the Town-Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee have been making noise about excess airplane noise for years. They enjoyed some victories in 2000 that will mean living in the Kennedy area should be a little quieter.
This month saw the elimination of certain older planes that are among the noisiest flying today. "We've been waiting for this a long time," said Dr. Jack Levenbrown, Village of Lawrence trustee and long-time member of the local noise abatement committee. "Now we're looking forward to the next step." That next step is the elimination of another class of noisy, older jets still flying in and out of JFK.
In another TVASNAC victory, runway use is now being rotated every eight hours at JFK to reduce jet noise over land, particularly between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. This plan ensures that no single community bears the full brunt of all the noise. The letter of agreement, signed by JFK's Tower and TVASNAC, includes, in addition to runway rotation, a stipulation to guide planes to water-approach runways, weather conditions permitting.
"Safety remains our first priority," said Ralph Tragale of Port Authority Management, Government and Committee Relations. "The rotation agreement may be temporarily postponed at times due to weather and runway conditions."
Although runway closures and resulting diversions to flight paths directly over residential areas are unavoidable, a way of quickly notifying affected communities has yet to be established. However, Thomas Bosco, JFK's manager of aeronautical operations, briefed TVASNAC in advance of summer runway closures last year. The community group has been asking for advance notice of runway shutdowns for some time.
Regarding future efforts to notify local groups of runway closures that may affect them, Tragale said, "If the situation arises, we would certainly do that again."
The FAA has also altered flight patterns, under pressure from community groups, so that planes make a turn over Jamaica Bay shortly after takeoff, thereby avoiding the Five Towns.
Finally, the supersonic Concorde fleet remains grounded as a result of the Air France crash near Paris last year.
Noise from above: the bad news
In April 2000, the passage of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the Twenty-first Century, better known as AIR 21, allowed for an increase in the number of flights at hub airports around the country, including Kennedy. The initial aim of the federal legislation, signed into law by President Clinton, was to provide additional flights from major airports to lesser-traveled cities, thus reducing airfares. The FAA will receive funding totaling $40 billion over the next three years to encourage access by regional commercial jets seating up to 70 passengers to hub airports such as JFK. The result: a potentially dramatic increase in the number of daily flights.
Opponents of the additional flight congestion spawned by AIR 21 cite the near-collision of two aircraft at LaGuardia in June as one reason this legislation should not have been passed. Despite the near catastrophe, LaGuardia has accommodated up to 300 more flights daily. JFK has not released figures on how many more flights, if any, it handles daily as a result of the legislation.
As of Jan. 1, an FAA routing change to maintain safe distances between aircraft has the effect of more planes flying over Valley Stream, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre.
Residents of the three communities, however, report that there has been no dramatic increase in noise yet.
Two major sources of funding that airports have access to for noise abatement projects are a $3 per ticket Passenger Facility Charge, or PFC, and the federal Air Improvement Program, which grants airports up to $5 million per year for residential soundproofing. To become eligible, an airport must prepare a Part 150 study, a comprehensive evaluation of noise problems at the airport. A study of the Port Authority's noise abatement efforts released last February by Representatives Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.) titled "Money for Nothing," charged Port Authority officials with ignoring noise abatement issues and losing out on such funding.
To date, the Port Authority has not conducted a Part 150 study for residential soundproofing, partly because officials believe that the region's five-year airspace redesign plan will redraw most Northeast air traffic routes and contribute to a decline in residential air noise.
"They will look at current patterns, make changes, and those changes will directly affect noise abatement issues," said Tragale. He added that the Port Authority has, in fact, addressed all noise abatement issues except for residential soundproofing. Instead, the PA has focused on soundproofing more schools. A statement issued last February by the PA confirmed that 20 more schools, including St. Joachim School in Cedarhurst, would be soundproofed, at a cost of $15 million.
"We're actually a little disappointed. We obtained federal funding for St. Joachim, but despite two follow-up letters, the diocese has yet to sign the agreement for the work," said Tragale.
"They do try to work with us," said Mildred Okos, local resident and assistant director of TVASNAC, said of the PA. "Most Five Towns schools have been soundproofed."
Air pollution
A recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council listed JFK and LaGuardia as the top two polluters in New York City.
Currently, both airports are exempted from the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act: No city, state or federal agency monitors pollution around airports. Legislation known as "the Bubble Bill" called for the state's Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct a feasibility study on regulating the air pollution in and around both Kennedy and LaGuardia. If passed, emissions from all sources within a three-mile radius would be measured, with a committee then recommending to the state how this pollution can be reduced. However, after successfully passing the state Assembly on two occasions, the bill has stalled twice in the Senate. It may, however, be reintroduced during the next session.
Noise on the ground
Regarding construction and its inherent noise and traffic delays: expect more of it. The massive $9 billion redevelopment program at JFK is well under way. New roads and parking garages are being built, and all nine passenger terminals are being completely overhauled. Construction is well under way at Terminal 4 and its adjacent multi-level parking complexes.
The redevelopment program also called for the establishment of the AirTrain, which will connect all the terminals and provide faster transportation to the airport, linking subway lines to new stations in Jamaica and Howard Beach.
Last year, neighborhood opponents of the AirTrain asked federal judges to halt its construction. Their case was dismissed, and construction of the AirTrain has continued as planned.
Both airport and AirTrain construction have increased traffic congestion on the Belt Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway and the Nassau Expressway. AirTrain construction should be completed by 2003; expect five more years of construction at JFK. The Port Authority maintains Web sites that are fairly up-to-date, and will help commuters plan their routes around affected areas.
In its 52-year history, John F. Kennedy International Airport has seen more than one billion passengers annually come and go on 1.1 million flights. Despite massive construction plans and 1,100 flights a day, some progress has been made to make a difficult situation better.
The FAA plans to begin next month sending representatives door to door to get residents' opinions on airspace redesign. The gesture is another example of how agencies are starting to take community groups seriously. But the battle between communities lying in the shadow of the airport and the agencies that run it is far from over.
Visit jfkairtrain.com and panynj.gov for updates on airport construction and how it may affect your commute.
Keith Grant, Jeff Lipton and Jonathan Cronin contributed to this article.
