Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee

TOWN-VILLAGE AIRCRAFT SAFETY & NOISE ABATEMENT COMMITTEE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD ONE WASHINGTON STREET • HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK 11550-4923 516-812-3296 • TVASNAC@TOHMAIL.ORG Meeting Minutes Monday, August 26, 2019 Nathan L. Bennett Pavilion Hempstead Town Hall In Attendance: Carl Baessler, Village of Atlantic Beach Larry Hopenhauer, Executive Director Kurt Langjahr, Village of New Hyde Park Andrew Weiss, Village of Floral Park The meeting was called to order and all recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  The minutes of the meeting for July 22, 2019 were presented for approval. Motion was made to approve by Kurt Langjahr and seconded by Carl Baessler. Motion passed unanimously.  Bill Huisman reported on the following: o Updates on noise from NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) given by Ralph Tambora who also attends NYCAR and JFK meetings  The August 23, 2019 addition of Airport Noise Report which comes out weekly. It highlights Senator Gillibrand, Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Meng to urge the FAA to increase transparency. They requested the following improvements of the NAC:  Provide the public with 30 days advanced notification for meetings rather than 15 days which are held in Washington DC to give them the opportunity to attend  Have the meetings live streamed to reach a larger audience in other areas  Publish the advanced notice outside the Federal Register as this is difficult to navigate with too much information. It does not just contain the FAA’s information.  Have the meetings recorded for future look back  There is a request for better communication. It is unfortunately, not a two- way dialogue. o House Quiet Skies Caucus sent a letter to Stephen Dixon:  Stephen Dixon has been approved as the new FAA Administrator and there is a request to meet with him numerous times resulting in cancellation Villages of Atlantic Beach • Cedarhurst • Floral Park • Garden City • Lawrence • Malverne • New Hyde Park • Stewart Manor • Valley Stream • Woodsburgh   Asking for results from the study regarding 65 DNL contours. Was the 65 DNL still legitimate measurement? This was supposed to be released in April 2018. Many folks would like it to be reduced to 55 DNL which the Europeans go by.  The results are being held up speculating the FAA does not want to undertake any mitigation if there is a reduction from 65DNL to 55DNL  It would end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars to insulate/ sound proof homes from the noise.  The co-chairs of Quiet Skies who signed the letter are: Representatives Stephen Lynch, Eleanor Holmes Norton , Mike Quigley and Tom Suozzi  You can visit the website: aircraftnoise.panynj.gov/announcements for weekly updates on the JFK runway reconstruction  The next JFK Airport Committee Meeting will be on 9/9/19 from 7 to 9 pm at JFK PA Bldg 14  The LaGuardia Airport Committee Meeting will be on 9/12/19 from 7 to 9pm at Vaughn College  Per Larry Hoppenhauer: NextGen issue with non-NYCAR groups; There is no communication other than the roundtable  Per Bill Huisman: Vida Simmons, Community Engagement Officer of the FAA, will be a representative to NYCAR  Per Larry Hoppenhauer: Reporting on the conversation with Steven Jones, FAA Air Traffic Control Specialist o In reference to Larry’s letter to Steve regarding FAA communication with non-NYCAR groups, Larry expressed that the lack of communication is problematic for the local communities. The response from Steve is that the FAA doesn’t have enough resources for the number of requests they receive. The way the FAA interprets the roundtable, established by Governor Cuomo, they believe NYCAR to represent all stakeholders. Larry asked for the policy on not responding to requests from non-NYCAR groups in writing to which Steve advised that they do not have it. The trend that is being exhibited by the FAA is concerning. o Larry requested a meeting with Mr. Brooks at TRACON. This request was forwarded to Steve Jones who advised that there would be no meeting. Requests for meeting, presentations, etc., must come through the roundtable. However, TVASNAC is not a member of the roundtable, posing a communication breakdown regarding community outreach. This will be brought up at the next JFK Committee meeting by Larry o Overall in summary, the FAA has been pulling back and non-communicative and unjust to the community especially given the fact that there are more complaints during the construction process than ever before. The public is left with nowhere to turn. o Larry commented that he said the FAA doesn’t need to fly in top people for many of the concerns being asked about. Rather one could tap into local FAA people involved in the work being done at JFK, such as departure and arrival routes.  TVASNAC on Facebook: This social media tool should be ready soon. Larry Hoppenhauer has asked the committee to get the word out to the public so they can participate in an informative exchange of information, questions and opinions. o This is a “group”, therefore registration and acceptance of the Terms and Conditions will be required. Villages of Atlantic Beach • Cedarhurst • Floral Park • Garden City • Lawrence • Malverne • New Hyde Park • Stewart Manor • Valley Stream • Woodsburgh   Meeting with the Mayors: Larry Hoppenhauer had a conference call with Mayor Theresa Trouve of Garden City. He also spoke at a Stuart Manor, Board of Trustees meeting. They were very attentive to the needs and concerns of TVASNAC and offered their assistance in whatever may be needed. There was another meeting with the Mayor George Pappas of Atlantic Beach. He is very supportive of the work of TVASNAC. His major concern was small aircraft and helicopters.  Per Larry Hoppenhauer: The September 9, 2019 JFK Committee Meeting agenda will be: o Step Down procedures vs. Glide Slopes o Possibility of raising the altitudes of approaches if they switch to glide slopes  3° (1273 feet) to 3.2° (1358 feet) at 6 miles away which will make a difference in terms of ground noise o There will also be updates on the current runway project set to be complete in November o Jet Blue will discuss sustainability issue at JFK o There will be breakout sessions for the committees  Larry Hoppenhauer asked the TVASNAC Committee for future suggestions for the agenda of our meetings to be certain all angles are covered with regard to proper representation of any and all community matters. This is noted by the committee.  Per Carl Baessler: Carl spoke with the Tower Manager, Dave Seward at JFK. Dave would be willing to come to a meeting but the request is to keep it informational only, not question and answer.  Per Aiden Hughes, Office of NYS Assemblywoman Judy Griffin: o The Legislation (A77-10- The Noise and Public Health Study) passed both houses. They are waiting for it to be delivered to the Governor. Currently, there is no timeline. o They are in the process of forming a letter to request membership on NYCAR o Senator Rice will take the lead to draft a letter to the FAA regarding the elimination of responses to any committee other than NYCAR. A copy will go to Governor Cuomo to ask for his assistance as well A motion to adjourn was made by Carl Baessler and seconded by Adam Weiss. Motion passed unanimously. Prepared By: Gail Rosenbaum Secretary, TVASNAC ___________________________________________________________________________________ The next regularly scheduled TVASNAC meeting will be held on Monday, September 23, 2019, at 7:00 PM Villages of Atlantic Beach • Cedarhurst • Floral Park • Garden City • Lawrence • Malverne • New Hyde Park • Stewart Manor • Valley Stream • Woodsburgh