EAB: Aircraft Noise Could Get Worse

Emirates, a major airline owned by the government of Dubai, could cause an even greater noise problem than residents are currently experiencing when it starts flying the Emirates A380, a new airbus superjumbo this summer.

"They've basically maxed out on the number of planes," said Trustee Laurence Quinn at the Environmental Advisory Board's meeting Wednesday night. "Here's the problem: they're going to be bigger, and the bigger planes come in at a lower altitude."

Quinn said the group has plans to meet with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy soon to discuss the matter further.

According to Quinn, this news comes after what had been a positive development in that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told the board that it was trying different flight patterns with the intention to reduce airplane noise across Long Island.  

One potential solution would be flying above the highways, from the Meadowbrook Parkway, to the Long Island Expressway, to the Cross Island Parkway in order to avoid creating excessive noise in residential areas.

Quinn said that New Hyde Park, Mineola and Floral Park each have a group dedicated to reducing airplane noise, with Floral Park being the most vocal. It is difficult for these groups to work together, as one solution is usually to send the planes over a neighboring town.

"If we all work together, the only thing we can agree on is height," Quinn said.

However, height is essentially unenforceable, he added. "There's no common ground," he said.

Once the airbus begins its service, Quinn said he thought the FAA would be less concerned with noise pollution and would not maintain the less noisy routes.

Gina Fornasar, who joined the board because of the stress plane noise has caused for her noise-sensitive autistic son, said she has considered soundproofing the windows on her house but is concerned about the price and their effectiveness.

"If I do it, I better be 100 percent guaranteed that it's going to work," Fornasar said. "We have speed limits; it's 55 miles per hour," she said. "Planes are going from 11 to 5 a.m., constantly."

"Planes will never go away, it's a question of how you'll manage them," says Robert Mangan, director of the Garden City's Department of Public Works.

In other EAB news, Quinn announced plans for Garden City High School to work with Envipco to increase recycling among students.

Envipco would provide the school with a machine and would empty it, provided that the high school could provide a minimum 127 bottles per day, 180 times per year, with a three- to five-year commitment.      

The 127 bottles would pay for the machine, and each bottle after that would reimburse the school. The company plans to have a new machine out for the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.    

"This is really a great thing," EAB member Leo Stimmler said.