Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee

TOWN-VILLAGE AIRCRAFT SAFETY & NOISE ABATEMENT COMMITTEE ONE WASHINGTON STREET  HEMPSTEAD 11550  (516) 489-3296 Town of MINUTES OF MEETING HEMPSTEAD Meeting Date: January 22, 2018 Villages of ATLANTIC BEACH In Attendance: CEDARHURST Carl Baessler, Village of Atlantic Beach FLORAL PARK Kurt Langjahr, Village of New Hyde Park Andrew Weiss, Village of Floral Park GARDEN CITY Laurence Quinn, Village of Garden City HEWLETT NECK LAWRENCE In absence of an Executive Director, the meeting was called to order by MALVERNE Committee member Carl Baessler. Mr. Baessler led the Committee and audience members in the Pledge of Allegiance. NEW HYDE PARK STEWART Normally the Committee would approve the minutes of the prior meeting (last meeting November 27, 2017) but as there was not a quorum present, no MANOR action was taken regarding the prior meeting minutes. VALLEY STREAM Mr. Baessler invited Mr. Bill Huisman up to the podium to provide an update WOODSBURGH regarding the most recent Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting concerning the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport 14 CFR Part 150 Study. (Please note, the following is a summary of Mr. Huisman’s update, much of this info comes from the JFK TAC Meeting Report provided on the Port Authority of NY and NJ website.) Mr. Huisman provided the following update regarding the most recent Part 150 Study TAC meeting of December 13, 2017 (JFK Airport)  Background regarding the Part 150 Study - The Port Authority has formed a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to provide input into the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 150 Study for John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and LaGuardia (LGA) Airports. The 14 CFR Part 150 Study will quantify existing and future aircraft noise exposure levels and seek ways to minimize those impacts to the greatest extent practical within 14 CFR Part 150 guidelines.  “Tighten SKORR” departure procedure - the intention of this procedure is to direct aircraft to turn sooner when departing from Runway 31L and Minutes of Meeting Page 2 reduce overflight of the Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach neighborhoods (in Queens).  Reduce Runway 31L intersection departures at night - this procedure involves directing aircraft to use the full length of Runway 31L at night instead of departing from the intersection of Runway 31L and Taxiway KD.  Combining the “Tighten SKORR” and “Reduce Runway 31L intersection departures at night” strategies may provide additional benefits to the Howard Beach neighborhood.  Turn Runway 22L/22R departures to Heading 240 at night - this proposed strategy may enable aircraft to gain more altitude before overflying the Rockaways and allow for overflight over land with lower population density.  Some common themes for noise abatement strategies at the airport that are not recommended: o Make the locations of departure paths consistent to minimize concentration of flights over a specific area (equitable distribution). o Simultaneous independent arrivals to Runway 22L/22R (shrink the DNL 65 contour over one neighborhood but increase it over another). o Dispersal headings off Runway 4L (will increase noise over residential neighborhoods). o Descend to JFK over the Atlantic Ocean instead of flying north and turning above the Long Island Sound (this strategy is unlikely to change the DNL 65 contour). o Implement a preferential nighttime runway use program to reduce nighttime Runway 22L/22R arrivals (runway rotation is reviewed in order of priority for runway rotation and selection every eight hours per runway availability, prevailing wind and weather patterns, operational efficiency and community noise concerns, in that order). o Have pilots lower landing gear closer to the airport (not feasible because final approach procedures such as landing gear and flaps are aircraft and operator specific and the PANYNJ cannot mandate cockpit management procedures). o Raise fees for noise violations and use those fees for noise mitigation and abatement (implementation of such a procedure is unlikely as a 14 CFR Part 161 Study would be required). o Aircraft technology changes (the PANYNJ does not have authority to mandate specific technology upgrades for aircraft). Upon completion of Mr. Huisman’s update (which was appreciated by all present), several of the Committee members raised questions and/or further commented on some of the points mentioned during Mr. Huisman’s update. Member Baessler commented that some agencies utilize airport curfews as a means to reduce Day Night Average Sound Levels (DNL). This can turn out to actually negatively impact the surrounding communities as the sound levels during active flight hours may be significantly higher than the 65 dB level but when averaged with the curfew period, result in a DNL that meets the threshold. Minutes of Meeting Page 3 Member Langjahr commented that a recent Port Authority operational report indicated a much greater frequency of departures from runway 31L. He also noted that noise abatement strategy implementation is made more difficult in our area due to the close proximity (within a 19 mile radius) of four (4) airports (John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark and Teterboro). Member Weiss commented that the majority of noise abatement strategies focused on departures, not much contemplated for arrivals. He also questioned how the potential strategy to have airplanes descend to JFK over the Atlantic Ocean instead of flying north and turning above the Long Island Sound could be unlikely to change the DNL 65 contour. Member Quinn commented that noise abatement strategies that do not improve conditions within the 65 dB contour will not be recommended as recommendations of the Part 150 Study; however, the FAA is willing to discuss some of these strategies outside of the framework of the Part 150 Study. This may need the assistance of our Federal Government Officials. At this time, Member Baessler, open the meeting to any questions from the public. Mr Steven Siciliano requested further clarification regarding noise abatement strategies which seem to make sense but are not recommended as a result of the Part 150 Study. Several of the Committee members clarified that noise abatement strategies not recommended by the Part 150 Study could still be pursed with the help of our federally elected representatives. Member Langjahr made a motion to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Member Baessler. The next regularly scheduled TVASNAC meeting will be held on Monday February 26, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Nathan L. Bennett Pavilion, Town Hall, One Washington Street, Hempstead, New York. Prepared By: Joseph L. Davenport Secretary, TVANAC January 25, 2018