"Lawmakers propose plan to limit hours of operation at NY airport"

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Lawmakers propose plan to limit hours of operation at airport
By REKA BALA
The Westchester (NY) Journal News


Members of Congress representing the Lower Hudson Valley proposed a plan
yesterday that, if passed, would limit the hours of operation at Westchester
County Airport and reduce the noise of overnight traffic, legislators said.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, Christopher Shays,
R-Conn., Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, and John Hall, D-Dover Plains, to allow
airport officials to impose mandatory restrictions on flight patterns late
at night without the need for prior approval from the Department of
Transportation, they said in a news release.

Several residents in nearby communities, including Rye, Harrison and Port
Chester, have expressed concern over the Federal Aviation Administration's
plans to redesign the county's airspace, a project that was initially
introduced to reduce delays in major airports rather than aircraft noise.
That plan, which covers a 31,000-square-mile area in Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Delaware, would reroute planes over those
five states but pump up the volume of flight traffic for about 67,000
residents in those areas.

"The people of Westchester deserve the peace and quiet that drew them here,"
Engel said. "It is not asking too much for airplanes to take off and land at
reasonable times, in harmony with the peoples' lifestyles."

Hall said that airport neighbors "have a right to enjoy evenings at home
without being plagued by excessive noise from air traffic."

The FAA plans to finish the final environmental impact statement in June and
have a record of decision in August. After the FAA analyzes residents'
comments, the agency will include them in the record of decision and respond
to them.

Spokeswoman Arlene Salac-Murray said the FAA would probably implement some
of the less-complicated airspace changes before the end of the year, while
those that were more complex might take longer.

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