Residents and Village of New Hyde Park Trustee Donald Barbieri continue to raise a ruckus over excessive noise created by low-flying commuter helicopters
At Tuesday night’s board of trustees meeting, residents complained about the noise from helicopters,which one resident described s as “unbearable.”
Responding to the resident’s question, Barbieri said a bill had recently passed the U.S. Senate that would authorize the Federal Aviation Authority to regulate helicopter traffic.
Barbieri said that representatives of Sen. Charles Schumer’s office told him that they are working with the Eastern Region Helicopter Council to encourage helicopter pilots to use an alternate south shore route over the Atlantic Ocean for flights between Manhattan and the eastern end of Long Island.
Barbieri said he has also discussed the issue with representatives of Rep Carolyn McCarthy’s office.
Barbieri said “when the wind goes a certain way” use of two landing runways at JFK Airport, 22L and 22R, exacerbates the problem.
“Those planes fall below the regulated height,” Barbieri said, forcing a helicopter flying an east-west route along the main Long Island Rail Road track line to fly at lower elevations, often at 500 feet or lower.
All air traffic through the area is directed by air controllers at JFK airport, who are concerned with maintaining a safe distance between the incoming airliners and the commercial helicopters.
“The whole issue is not precluding them from using the [central] route,” said resident Edward Powers. “The issue is the height.”
There are currently no FAA standards regulating the height of helicopter flights, according to Robert Grotell, special advisor to the Eastern Region Helicopter Council.
Grotell said last month that as a result of complaints from North Shore residents in 2009, the helicopter council urged its membership to use the existing South Shore route over the Atlantic and the track line route. The North Shore route was established as a result of Schumer’s intercession in 2007 to relieve the traffic flying the southern and track line routes.
The objective was to diversify the routes, consistent with the Federal Aviation Association’s overall strategy for noise mitigation of commercial air traffic, according to Grotell.
But the balance the Eastern Region Helicopter Council encouraged two years ago has shifted since then.
“We have seen increased usage of the track route this year,” Grotell said.
New Hyde Park Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro suggested residents should contact the offices of Schumer and McCarthy about the issue.
“Hopefully your voice will be heard and your e-mail will make a difference,” Lofaro said.
In other developments:
• In response to a question from a resident about road repairs in the village, New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio said the village board is working on a plan to continue the ongoing work of fixing the roads.
“We’re trying to put a project together this year,” Petruccio said.
• Captain John Concannon reported that the village auxiliary police department has been hampered from conducting its normal duties for the past several months because of a faulty ignition module in its patrol car that is awaiting replacement. The patrol car is maintained by the county, which dictates the repair schedule for its vehicles.
“We have not been able to do our regular neighborhood patrols,” Concannon said.
Concannon encouraged residents to volunteer for the auxiliary force as a good way to “give back” to the community.
• Thomas Gannon, village Department of Public Works superintendent, said $7,800 has been received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for repair of a fence along the Long Island Rail Road line damaged during the post Christmas blizzard, and repair work will start soon.
Gannon also said his department is finishing work on removing tree limbs around the village and will be starting work on removing tree stumps.
