File Photo
Meng (r.) met with Chao last November in the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss aircraft noise over Queens.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Toss the “TNNIS Climb.”
That was the message in U.S. Rep. Grace Meng’s (D-Flushing) recent letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao calling on her to eliminate the controversial LaGuardia Airport flight pattern over Queens that, according to a new study, negatively impacts the health of borough residents.
The route was originally instituted in 2012 to divert planes from flying directly over Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the U.S. Tennis Center for the duration of the US Open each year. However, according to the new Columbia University and Queens Quiet Skies study, “The Trade-Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft Noise in Queens, NY, USA,” which was featured in The Forum earlier this month, the year-round use of TNNIS at LaGuardia was a result of flight automation in New York City. No environmental assessment or environmental impact statement was ever performed on the route.
For the TNNIS analysis, researchers compared the costs and quality-adjusted life years gained associated with reverting to pre-2012 flight patterns seen prior to the year-round use of TNNIS. The TNNIS climb increased airplane noise to above 60dB over some of the most densely populated areas of the city. The serious health threats produced by the increase in noise could result in the loss of up to one year of an affected person’s lifespan.
“This study further illustrates the need to get rid of the TNNIS Climb,” Meng said. ”The route has unfairly burdened our borough with blistering aircraft noise ever since it was implemented by the FAA in 2012, and this study confirms our suspicions about the adverse health impacts it has on Queens residents. I have met with Secretary Chao and explained to her the importance of combating the excessive airplane noise over Queens. Now, in light of this new study, she must take action. I truly hope that she’ll be our partner in this fight, and provide us with the relief we desperately need. I eagerly await her reply.”
