Letter to FAA Regional Administrator Maria Stanco - Rep. Zeldin Expresses Frustrations of North Fork Residents in Letter to FAA re North Shore Helicopter Route

Letter

Dear Acting Regional Administrator Stanco,

It has been over 6 months since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. No: 115-254) was signed by President Trump, and it is urgent that the FAA take immediate action to address aircraft noise on the North Fork of Long Island as another noisy high season approaches. On behalf of a community surrounded by water, it should not be complicated for your agency to take swift action to implement true all water routes to take traffic away from populated areas impacted by noise. Public "workshops" held by the FAA on Long Island in November were also woefully inadequate and did not comply with section 182 of the aforementioned law, which called for public hearings in impacted communities.

The FAA must comply with the requirement to hold real public hearings in the communities impacted by the North Shore Route. The "workshops" held on Long Island last year did not meet the clear mandates of the law and insulted my constituents. The use of the questionable, insufficient format not only silenced the voices of the public, but was perceived as a clear attempt by the FAA to diminish the serious impact of the NSR and the negative quality of life impacts that resulted to the North Fork. In order to comply with the law and to truly be held accountable, the FAA must hold real public hearings on the North Fork immediately.

As also required by law, the FAA must work on the implementation of an all water route over the Atlantic Ocean to alleviate the unfair, unsafe, and unhealthy impact of the needlessly flawed North Shore Helicopter Route (NSR) on impacted communities in my district.

The announcement earlier this month that the FAA had extended the use of alternative noise relief routes that shift traffic away from impacted neighborhoods in Northeast Queens is great news for suffering residents in those areas but a slap in the face to the North Fork of Long Island which has sought similar relief for years. Actions by your agency to provide relief to select communities impacted by the deeply flawed North Shore Route while ignoring the pleas of others is unfair and inequitable. The residents of the North Fork do not live near any helipads or airports and receive only the negative impact of noise and none of the economic benefits associated with the air traffic that greatly increases over their homes during the summer high season. If the FAA is willing and able to provide noise relief to New York City communities suffering from the NSR through regulatory action, it must swiftly and immediately take the same action for North Fork residents.

The ultimate solution is the implementation of a real all water route over the Atlantic for aircraft bound for the East End of Long Island. Delays and excuses from the FAA are not acceptable. Your agency was able to create the unfair and problematic North Shore Helicopter Route in 2012 (77 FR 39911, July 6, 2012) and used questionable "emergency authority" to extend it without any notice or consultation in the summer of 2016 (81 FR 48323, July 25, 2016), yet has still failed to deliver on a real Atlantic Ocean Route. Surely the same regulatory power used to create and perpetuate a flawed and unfair mandatory aircraft route can also be used to institute a real solution for residents in my district that are now bracing for another high season that will be ruined by aircraft noise and FAA inaction. The FAA must act swiftly to meet the requirements of the law and take action on an all water route over the Atlantic Ocean.

Your immediate attention to these important matters is appreciated. Please respond promptly with a clear timeline and plan on how these requests will be implemented as required by law.

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