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, March 28, 2022 In Attendance Carl Baessler, Village of Atlantic Beach Dan Plaut, Village of Cedarhurst Andrew Weiss, Village of Floral Park Laurence Quinn, Village of Garden City Akiva Lubin – Village of Lawrence (called in) 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 January 24, 2022 minutes and if there were any changes. As there were no changes noted, Andrew Weiss made the motion to approve these minutes, and Laurence Quinn second the motion. Joining the meeting tonight was Meredith Hughes of Legislator Richard Nicolello’s office. Meredith will be joining us going forward to provide updates to Legislator Nicolello. James Vilardi reminded the committee that Supervisor Clavin is working on assigning a town attorney to the committee, and the attorney will be present for our next meeting. James believes that we should coordinate efforts with other community groups that are also advocating for airplane noise abatement and arrange a joint meeting. James recommended that if his schedule permits, the town’s Chief of Staff, Jack Libert attend our next meeting along with the town attorney and give us his opinion on where to go from here in making some progress. Andrew Weiss stated that at our January meeting, we spoke about reviewing the FAA Reauthorization Bill from 2018 to see what the FAA is required to do. While the FAA is the expert, we have to be able to point out to them anything they are not doing that is mandated in the Bill. And, it seems there are about half a dozen studies that were supposed to be put together as per the Bill: 173: FAA was to complete a study into alternatives for 65 DNL within one year 175: Study feasibility of "dispersal headings" i.e., whether planes can be fanned out over a wider area instead of all coming in over the same neighborhoods 176: NextGen "Community Involvement Practices" 178: Sequencing and Spacing when using NextGen 179: Noise mitigation and safety study initiated within one year, due within two years, and submitted to Congress by 12/23/20 1  180: Ombudsman shall be a liaison with community groups 187: Conclude the noise exposure study 188: Study alternatives to DNL for measuring noise 189: Study the effects noise has on health • Of these, only one study was done – Section 179, the Noise Mitigation and Safety study was done to determine if the level of noise will change if the speed of an aircraft is changed on departure and arrival. The result was that on departures speed does not matter, it’s only a .5 decibel difference if you change the speed because of the thrust of the aircraft; you need the engine to get the plane off the ground. With respect to arrivals, there is no impact at all if you live close to the airport because the engine isn’t working anyway so the noise is all from the fuselage; there is a 10 decibel difference if you are 25 miles away. • Section 180 regarding the Ombudsman - The current Ombudsman is not acting as a true liaison. At the Round Table meetings she basically said her job is to listen to everyone and bring comments back to the agency. The FAA also said that once the Part 150 was done that was their conduit into the community, and they do not have to meet with anyone else, which is not exactly what the statue says. Part 180b1 states that each regional Ombudsman will serve as a liaison to public, including community groups, on issues regarding airplane noise and safety. The FAA is in violation of public policy in that regard. o Dan Plaut recommended this be brought to the attention of the town attorney that is assigned to TVASNAC. o Carol Renta pointed out that the letter the Supervisor received from the FAA clearly states we have the ability to ask questions during the Roundtable; the roundtable is the FAA’s extent of community involvement. Questions should be submitted in advance of the Roundtable meeting so the FAA can ensure having appropriate personnel present to answer any questions. Carol suggested doing this prior to the next Roundtable. • Section 187 concerning noise exposure, the FAA is supposed to conduct ongoing noise exposure studies regarding the relationship between airplane noise exposure and the effects on communities, but Andrew has not seen any reports having been done. • Andrew Weiss further stated that the FAA is just ignoring all these statutes, and should be held accountable. James Vilardi suggested that we write a letter to the FAA Administrator citing the Reauthorization Bill, itemizing what their obligations are. The FAA will deny everything in an Article 78, and then we will have to sue them in order to get them to do what is outlined in the Bill. It’s easy to pinpoint what they are required to do and have not done. James Vilardi suggested that the town’s Chief of Staff Jack Libert sit in on the next meeting along with our town attorney, in order to provide us with some insight on the use of possible litigation with the FAA. • Carol Renta stated she will invite the Chief of Staff to the next meeting. A discussion was held about the noise monitors the FAA placed in communities. The location of these monitors may lead to skewed results in picking up ambient noise from trucks driving down the street, lawn mowers, etc. not just airplane noise. The noise then has to be sifted through to see how much of the noise is actually from airplanes. James Vilardi pointed out that if the FAA is looking at decibel levels over a 24-hour period is just meaningless, there is obviously less plane traffic in the middle of the night than during the morning and evening hours. That data is just useless. 2  • Dan Plaut pointed out that the FAA does this intentionally; it’s intentionally deceiving. Perhaps a lawyer could challenge this practice. • Andrew Weiss suggested that the FAA probably does not want decibel levels changed, because mitigation would be too costly to them – sound proofing residents’ homes, etc. Carl Baessler suggested possibly inviting Bill Heisman to the next meeting to give the committee a report on the raw data he collects from the noise monitors. Bill used to come to TVASNAC meetings all the time several years ago, but has not been here in quite a while. Everyone was in agreement, and Carl will contact Bill. Richard Pallisco stated that the Village of New Hyde Park gets a lot of airplane noise complaints at village meetings, and the village board gives these residents the FAA’s noise complaint number to call. 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