Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee

TOWN-VILLAGE AIRCRAFT SAFETY & NOISE ABATEMENT COMMITTEE One Washington Street, Hempstead, New York 11550 (516) 489-5000 x3296 – TVASNAC@tohmail.org Meeting Minutes Monday, January 24, 2022 In Attendance Carl Baessler, Village of Atlantic Beach Dan Plaut, Village of Cedarhurst (virtual) Andrew Weiss, Village of Floral Park Laurence Quinn, Village of Garden City Akiva Lubin – Village of Lawrence (virtual) Richard Pallisco, Village of New Hyde Park James Vilardi, Executive Director James Vilardi asked Carol Renta to take attendance, and the meeting was called to order. James Vilardi asked if everyone read the November 22, 2021 minutes and if there were any changes. As there were no changes noted, Carl Baessler made the motion to approve these minutes, and Richard Pallisco second the motion. Joining the meeting remotely tonight was Assemblyman Ed Ra and Tom Curry representing Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s office. Joining the meeting also was Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin. James Vilardi announced to the committee that Supervisor Don Clavin will be assigning an attorney from the Town Attorney’s Office to TVASNAC to assist with researching legislative issues the committee can submit to federally elected officials and to the FAA.  Supervisor Don Clavin reiterated his dedication to the committee and his intention to provide us with the tools necessary to move forward our agenda; appointing a town attorney to the committee is a step in the right direction.  The committee thanked the Supervisor. Assemblyman Ed Ra provided an update on what is happening at the state level explaining that the Governor has a bill (A2140) pending which includes directing $500,000 (money was included in the state budget last year) to be spent on a health study regarding aircraft noise. The Governor requested a “Chapter Amendment,” which is essentially her indication of wanting to sign the bill while not being totally onboard with the content and wants changes made. The original legislation called for the study to be performed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, but the Governor has asked this to be changed, and the study instead be conducted through the Department of Health in consultation with the Department of Environment Conservation, the Department of Transportation and any other relative agencies. The Governor also explicitly asked for the term “environmental” to be removed from the legislation so it only covers noise and human health impact, and added asthma as something she wants to be included as part of the bill. It passed through the first committee last week and now is pending before the Ways and Means Committee. Once this is done, they can begin the process of conducting the study. 1 Tom Curry stated that he has no updates on airplane noise or its health effects, but he was taking notes at tonight’s meeting and will bring the information provided by Assemblyman Ra back to Congresswoman Rice and her Legislative Aide. Tom further offered to provide to James Vilardi and Carol Renta information on the infrastructure deal for money for LaGuardia and JFK airports for information purposes.  James Vilardi told Tom Curry the committee appreciates anything he or the Congresswoman can do to assist us; as a committee, we are frustrated and looking to take a different tactic. James then asked Tom his opinion on what to do as a committee with an agency that just doesn’t care what we think. Tom Curry replied that this is especially a problem for Long Islanders, because the FAA has basically admitted to only sending representatives from New York City communities to the Roundtable. Tom went on to comment that this is frustrating, not only because nothing gets done, but also because Long Islanders’ concerns are rarely brought up. Congresswoman Rice’s office has written multiple letters to the FAA Administrator and the Eastern Region Administrator requesting they send representation to TVASNAC and other Long Island-centric community organizations who are interested in this problem, including the Nassau County Aviation Committee that was organized by Jana Goldberg and Elaine Miller. Every time they write letters or make a personal phone call, they are rebuffed time and time again. Tom feels the Congresswoman believes that the FAA is flaunting the Reauthorization Act of 2018 where they said there were going to be robust community engagements; if communities such as Nassau County are being ignored, that is in direct violation of the law, and the Congresswoman’s office will continue to pursue this issue.  Andrew Weiss asked Tom Curry if he would be able to send us a copy of the Reauthorization Bill of 2018 or provide us with the bill number. Since the law consists of benchmarks the FAA is supposed to be hitting and may not be, we may be able to get their attention by pointing this out. If this is the case, we can then tell them we aren’t requesting anything new, just for them to do what is already outlined in the statues and maybe we will be able to find out where the disconnect is occurring.  Tom Curry agreed to send Andrew the bill and updates on the benchmarks the FAA is hitting. Additionally, Tom will speak with their Legislative Director in DC and see if they can prepare for next month’s meeting and provide TVASNAC with a better update. Andrew Weiss asked Tom Curry if he knows if there is a status on the Part 150 study.  Tom Curry stated that he cannot speak to the Part 150 Study. It was authorized by the FAA and is being done by the Port Authority, but Tom does not think they provided any updates during the pandemic.  Andrew Weiss commented that when he goes to NYCAR meetings, they derive into complaint sessions where the membership yells at the FAA, and the “Ombudsman” says she cannot comment but will take the complaints back to the FAA. The Ombudsman’s only comment was that her job is to be the bridge between the agency and the committee – her job is not to answer questions.  Tom Curry pointed out that the Ombudsman actually has two jobs; as Ombudsman and as community engagement officer and therefore is not fulfilling one of her jobs. Andrew Weiss suggested that this is something we should explore.  Tom Curry agreed that the Congresswoman’s office has an issue with this as well and wrote to the FAA with their objection to her being selected Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is supposed to be neutral, but she came up through the FAA, which makes no sense. Congresswoman Rice’s office had an issue with this at the outset which the FAA ignored.  James Vilardi suggested we organize a meeting with the Nassau County Aviation Committee, Quiet Skies and any of the other community groups advocating to reduce airplane noise in our communities. We have a joint mission in common, we should work together. Also, the town attorney can help us with legislative issues we can pursue to get the FAA’s attention; such as decibel levels. The FAA always falls back on passenger safety, which everyone is concerned about, but that does not negate the other issues communities near the airports are facing each day. 2   Tom Curry feels we addressed this through the 2018 Reauthorization Bill, but the FAA does not seem to be taking it seriously.  Andrew Weiss asked Tom Curry since this was a five year bill from 2018 that expires in 2023, if Congress is starting to look to renewing/updating the bill at this point.  Tom Curry commented that they can certainly start thinking about it and getting suggestions into the Transportation Committee. Tom will speak with his Legislative Director and hopefully have a better discussion on this in February at the next meeting. James Vilardi asked if the committee had any other business to share, having none, motion to adjourn was made by Carl Baessler and second by Laurence Quinn. Prepared by: Carol Renta Secretary, TVASNAC 3