Thanks to Trustee Clara Pomerantz, Supervising Trustee, the Following letter was obtained from Judi Winters:

Dear Neighbors,

As the Village representative on the air traffic issues I have been following the problems that we face regarding quality of life for many years, With the recent passage of the FAA re-authorization bill a few months back air traffic patterns have changed but still affect our quality of life.

We are asking all residents (please pass this on to your friends and neighbors who may not receive this email) to engage in the following actions:

ACTION #1 call the Town of North Hempstead:
call the Town of North Hempstead: #311 from a land line (be aware that on Sunday's especially there is a line-up of options before the laundry list gets to air traffic complaints) and 869-6311 if you are calling from a cell - if you have that cellie in hand try and take a picture of the flights going overhead

ACTION #2 picture taking:
If you have a video camera, take pics when you are having conversation to demonstrate that such conversation is inaudible when these jets pass overhead.

ACTION #3 direct mail - we are also taking another tack. Below is a letter to JetBlue (their increased schedule is one of the primary causes that initiated the changes in routing) that we are asking you to cut/copy, sign and send by snail mail:

JetBlue Airlines
27-01 Queens Plaza North
Long Island City, NY 11101

Attention: Dave Barger, Chief Executive Officer and President

We need your help. The amount of noise affecting our citizens along the approach and departure routes for La Guardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports has become unbearable. As head of Jet Blue Airways, a company thatworks towards improving the environment through its Community Connection and Jetting to Green programs, you are the best partner we could possibly have to help control and reduce the environmental impact of this increased air traffic in the NY metro area.

We know that when using a visual approach to runway 22l at JFK, pilots are not constrained by any glide slope as is the case in an ILS approach. Said another way, as long as long as he/she keeps the aircraft and passengers safe and maintains minimum altitudes below or above aircraft glide slope limitations for the aircraft, the pilot has essentially free reign over the approach profile.

At the very least, what appears to be happening centers on the activity of JFK's runway 22l where the pilots using visual approach sometimes maintain a relatively flat approach until close to the airport. This is wasting fuel and subjecting our neighbors to unnecessary noise.

I discussed this issue with our groups' consultant (a pilot for a major U.S. Airline) who flies into and out of JFK and he wrote the following:

Heathrow does an impressive job of keeping planes reasonably high in order to keep power back on the aircrafts continuous decent approaches (CDA's). They require astrict ground track, usually through assigned headings (rather than LNAV via GPS). This system is extremely successful. They have a better than 95% compliance rate with constant descent. What is really killing things at JFK is the 2000' level off prior to glide slope capture. If they could institute somekind of constant descent profile like at Heathrow (or a number of Western US airports such as SFO, SNA, LAX, BUR), the 22 noise problems would disappear. The airlines would also save a ton of fuel.

Please ask your flight personnel to review this basic approach described above and see if this makes any sense to use at JFK, LGA or both.

We appreciate your service and the fact that you and Senator Schumer are working hard in bringing quality air service at a reasonable price to New York State. However, we ask that you do not do it at the expense to the environment and to the quality of life on the North Shore of Long Island (and to other communities as well).

Sincerely,

Thank you
Judi

REMINDER - WEDNESDAY THE 27TH AT THE BRYANT LIBRARY
CIVIC MEETING AT 7:30PM
GUEST SPEAKER ON THE FRACKING ISSUE AT 8:15PM
but on Tuesday you can do this:

Statewide Call-In Day and Online Actions to Gov. Cuomo for a Fracking Ban!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9am- 5pm
Location: Your phone and computer
In mid-June, a New York Times article came out indicating a plan from the NYS DEC and Governor Cuomo to create sacrifice zones for fracking in the Southern Tier. We need an overwhelming response to the outrageous plan and blatant environmental injustice of allowing drilling in the Southern Tier.

Take two actions and share this far and wide...

1. Call Governor Cuomo at 1-866-584-6799. When you're connected to his office, tell them your name and where you’re from, and then simply tell them that Governor Cuomo must not create sacrifice zones and that he must protect all New Yorkers by banning fracking. Or use this script: "It is not okay to sacrifice any part of New York to fracking. Fracking would create the greatest health and environmental disaster in NY's history-- if you break it, you own it. Ban fracking now!" After you’ve made your call, encourage friends and family to make calls too!

2. Post that message on Governor Cuomo's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/GovernorAndrewCuomo). Tweet this message at Governor Cuomo http://j.mp/MrEopx - #Fracking would create the greatest health and environmental disaster in NY's history, and @NYGovCuomo ban fracking now.

Here is the Food & Water Watch event page for the call-in day: http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?event_KEY=74702