State reps. propose legislation to combat jet noise on Long Island

State Sen. Jim Gaughran and Assemblywoman Judy Griffin proposed a bill last week that would study the environmental and human health impacts of John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. The proposed legislation would require the state Departments of Environmental Conservation and Transportation to examine and report on the effects of air traffic at the two airports.

“The noise is excessive, harmful to humans and needs to be mitigated,” Griffin said at a Nassau County Aviation Committee news conference on May 17. “Although we will always endure a level of airplane noise, I am hopeful that this study will illustrate that many residents are faced with excessive noise way above the acceptable level.”

Gaughran, a Democrat from Northport, recalled knocking on doors during his campaign for senate. He said in some cases he couldn’t finish a conversation with a constituent due to the noise from low-flying planes overhead. “There are direct flight paths that go over the northern part of [the Town of] Oyster Bay,” he said referring to the cluster of incorporated villages there. “In those communities you feel like you can reach up and touch some of these planes. It’s a distraction.”

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