Aircraft Noise Is Unrelenting, Northeast Queens Residents Say

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A national petition asking the Federal Aviation Administration to revert back to old flight patterns is gaining traction among Northeast Queens residents, who say persistent aircraft noise above their homes is keeping them awake and triggering their anxiety and PTSD.

One signee, who said he lives on Sanford Avenue in Flushing, wrote that the sound of jets above home is "like a war zone."

"I have all windows closed, yet I hear jets flying over me as if my windows were open wide," he wrote when signing the petition.

And a Bayside resident called the noise torture, writing, "My health is diminishing daily directly due to the continual aircraft noise and lack of rest/sleep. I have lost several days from work because of it. It is torture."

The noise first worsened in 2012, the New York Daily News reported. That's when the Federal Aviation Administration changed flight patterns by LaGuardia and JFK Airports as part of the agency's ongoing modernization effort known as NextGen.

City Council Member Paul Vallone, who represents Northeast Queens, and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi are lobbying the FAA to continue a pilot program that puts helicopters traveling to and from Long Island on an alternative route further from Northeast Queens.

But residents say they disagree with Vallone and Suozzi's claims that the alternative route over the Long Island Sound has provided substantial relief.

Responding to the critiques, Vallone maintained that the alternative helicopter route has provided relief and called helicopter noise a "real quality of life disturbance."

"I will continue to advocate for further improvements that will protect Northeast Queens from helicopter and other disruptive air traffic noise," he said in an emailed statement.

One Whitestone resident, who asked to remain anonymous to maintain his family's privacy, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and the noise of aircrafts flying over his home triggers panic attacks.

He wants officials to prohibit helicopters, which face fewer flight restrictions than airplanes, from flying over Whitestone and other nearby residential areas.

"There are many autistic, noise-sensitive children and adults who suffer from PTSD and other mental health conditions; they need safe zones," he told Patch.

Northeast Queens residents are finding creative ways to cope with the noise. A website created by a Whitestone resident tracks noise complaints on a live map. A Facebook group called "End Helicopter Noise" has become a safe space for locals to vent.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng and Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand earlier this month asked the FAA to livestream NextGen Advisory Committee meetings, making it easier for the public to stay up-to-date on changing flight paths.

Meanwhile, the petition to the FAA keeps garnering more and more signatures.