Blue Angels and Thunderbirds will fly over Queens today

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Derelict Mayor Bill de Blasio ditches the city and blows off his civic duties to go to Iowa and other "kinda primary" states

de Blasio and his only endorsement.

NY Daily News

Mayor de Blasio is headed back to Iowa.

Hizzoner — who has not ruled out a run for president in 2020 — will visit the home of the first presidential caucus this weekend, two sources confirmed to the Daily News.

That comes after he had to scuttle a trip to New Hampshire, home to the first presidential primary, that had been scheduled for last weekend. The trip was called off due to the tragic death of a Detective Brian Simonsen in a friendly fire incident.

he mayor will speak to the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines on Sunday, according to the Des Moines Register.

He was last in Iowa in December of 2017 — when he spoke at the holiday dinner of political group Progress Iowa. Prior to that, he visited the state to stump for Hillary Clinton, but was relegated to knocking on doors and never crossed paths with the candidate.

 Asked by The News whether anyone ever does urge him to run for president, de Blasio at first bristled: "I’m not going to try and fall into the trap of the question.”

He said when he had more to say on the topic, he would — but said plenty of New Yorkers have urged him on.

"I get a lot of encouragement from people. I know it may be hard to believe, after we've talked about placard abuse and the anger and frustration that New Yorkers feel on that issue broadly. But every day I have New Yorkers come up and talk about different things the administration is doing that they like, and plenty of people who urge me on for the future,” he said.

 As everyone who reads a newspaper, watches television, and has a frickin' cellphone knows; Bernie Sanders just announced his candidacy a few days ago. He is currently second in the polls behind Biden, jumped ahead of the corporate news media hyped Kamala Harris and has raised millions in just 48 hours. So the progressive candidate is already established and continuing this exploratory run is purely mental.

This is pure speculation, but it looks like Da Mayor is looking to ditch town after the public advocate election.


 

Plane noise is killing us

From PIX11:

For years, the Federal Aviation Administration gave tennis fans first-class treatment.

During the U.S. Open, the FAA diverted planes from nearby LaGuardia Airport, away from Arthur Ashe Stadium during the tournament. But in 2012, the tennis climb, as the flight path is known, stuck.

The decision permanently sent airplanes over the densely populated areas of northern Queens during takeoff.

"It's pretty loud, sometimes you think it's just a few meters above your roof," said Daniel Vasquez, who lives in Bayside.

Vasquez said he's constantly woken up by the rumbling of planes flying overhead. Now, according to a new study out of Columbia University, it turns out that turbulence may be causing more damage than anyone realized.

"I think the most damaging and shocking is the fact that given the noise impact, the air pollution impact, the noise from the planes, you could lose one year off your life," Sen. Tony Avella said.

Avella represents the impacted neighborhoods and said the FAA committed a classic double fault when it made the switch permanent. Not only was there no environmental impact study, but he said, the FAA didn't even bother to let the community know about the switch.

Bird strikes went up after goose killings started

From the Daily News:

An Associated Press analysis of bird-killing programs at the New York City area's three major airports found that nearly 70,000 gulls, starling, geese and other birds have been slaughtered, mostly by shooting and trapping, since the 2009 accident, and it is not clear whether those killings have made the skies safer.

Federal data show that in the years after bird-killing programs LaGuardia and Newark airports ramped up in response to the gutsy landing, the number of recorded bird strikes involving those airports actually went up.

Combined, the two airports went from an average of 158 strikes per year in the five years before the accident to an average of 299 per year in the six years after it, though that could be due to more diligent reporting of such incidents.

Flushing plagued by excessive aircraft noise

From AM-NY:

Noise levels in the Flushing, Queens, neighborhood near LaGuardia Airport exceeded federal levels on one of every three days earlier this year, elected officials and community activists said Monday.

The maximum permissible Day/Night Noise Level — or DNL — of 65 decibels was exceeded on 32 out of the 92 days from March through May on a monitor on Franklin Avenue, state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) said at a news conference.

The Federal Aviation Administration measures on a scale that averages all community noise during a 24-hour period, with a tenfold penalty for noise occurring at night and early morning.

“With this data, we now see what we’ve always known: parts of Queens are subjected to higher levels of sound than others,” Stavisky said.

She said the current DNL standards date to the 1970s and are obsolete. She and others at the news conference said the FAA should reduce the maximum allowable DNL to 55, the standard at most airports overseas.

Koo asks FAA to divert flight paths

From the Times Ledger:

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) is calling on the Department of City Planning to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to consider reverting to LaGuardia Airport’s old flight paths if it cannot resolve the airplane noise issue.

Before 2012, flight paths were routed over Citi field, the tennis stadium and Flushing Meadows Corona Park but would be diverted over Flushing during the US Open. But in 2012, the FAA approved the Flushing flight path for general use.

In a response dated Dec. 2, to a draft document of the environmental impact statement for the proposed Flushing West waterfront development plan, Koo said low- flying planes and the noise have caused health concerns for residents in his district. He noted that the proposed development area would be directly under LGA’s current flight pattern.

Koo, who lives in downtown Flushing, said the FAA has not conducted a comprehensive review of the flight paths approved in 2012 and said he keeps his patio door closed because of the noise.

Bird strikes up despite goose slaughter

From CBS New York:

Bird strikes affecting flights are on the rise in the Tri-State area.

As WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall reported, a new report suggests the problem keeps getting worse.

There were 175 bird strikes last year at LaGuardia Airport — the most since the FAA started tracking the incidents in 1990.

So the millions of dollars that taxpayers have spent to kill birds in NYC parks that the government deemed a threat to aircraft were actually thrown down the toilet? When is that waste of a program going to end as it has just been proven to be ineffective and unnecessary?

A real peaceful protest

From NBC:

A group of retired and current NYPD officers say they flew a banner along the Hudson River Friday that said "de Blasio, our backs have turned to you" in protest of the mayor's policies toward the department.

The small banner, which traveled up and down the Hudson River Friday morning, was paid for by officers upset over what they called "the mayor’s incendiary rhetoric, and for facilitating the current hostile climate towards the NYPD."

The plane made several passes between Battery Park and the George Washington Bridge at about 9 a.m.

In a statement released Friday morning, the group of officers condemned the mayor for his comments about worrying about the safety of his interracial son at the hands of police following a Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict an officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. They said de Blasio's comments fanned flames of civil unrest following the grand jury decision "potentially to the deaths of PO Wenjian Liu and PO Rafael Ramos, as well as the continued threats against NYPD personnel."

"We no longer have confidence in Mayor de Blasio, nor in his ability to lead New York City and promote the values that both the NYPD and the good law abiding citizens of the city hold dear," the officers said. "Mayor de Blasio turned his back on us long before we turned our backs on him."

Judge tosses JFK runway lawsuit

From the Daily News:

An appeals court rejected a lawsuit by homeowners in Queens seeking to stop the Port Authority from expanding a runway at Kennedy Airport.

The Eastern Queens Alliance argued in its federal lawsuit that the runway project would result in more noise for residents near the airport.

“We understand the concerns expressed by members of certain communities near the airport,” the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled on Tuesday, stating each of the alliance’s objections was either not raised early enough or were “unfounded.”

Developers and politicians against airport safety

From the NY Post:

The government wants to dramatically reduce the allowable height of buildings near hundreds of airports — a proposal that is drawing fire from real estate developers and members of Congress who say it will reduce property values.

The Federal Aviation Administration proposal, supported by airports and airlines, is driven by encroaching development that limits safe flight paths for planes that might lose power in an engine during takeoff. Planes can fly with only one engine, but they have less power to climb quickly over obstacles.

Airlines have to plan for the possibility that a plane could lose the use of an engine during takeoff even though that doesn’t happen very often. As more buildings, cellphone towers, wind turbines and other tall structures go up near airports, there are fewer safe flight paths available. Current regulations effectively limit building heights based on the amount of clearance needed by planes with two operating engines.

The FAA’s proposal has created “a real estate and developer firestorm,” said Ken Quinn, a former FAA chief counsel who is representing several developers. “A single building can be worth $100 million and more. If you are talking about lopping off whole floors, you can ruin the economic proposition and you can destroy the viability of the building, so you are talking about easily a $1 billion in economic impact.”

Cellphone tower owners and operators are also concerned.

Queens Blvd airplane laser attack

From the Queens Courier:

The FBI is seeking help to identify the perpetrator behind a laser attack, which caused flash blindness and disrupted the vision of a Delta Air Lines pilot on Tuesday.

As the plane was approaching LaGuardia Airport to land just before 8 p.m., a green beam that came from Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst entered the cockpit twice, the FBI said.

The injured pilot continued to experience pain in his right eye for a while after the attacks.

“Laser incidents are often viewed as harmless. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos said. “Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers, and we are asking anyone who knows anything to contact us.”

Will Crowley's airplane noise law really change anything?

From the Queens Courier:

The skies over Queens and the rest of the country may soon be quieter.

Congressmember Joe Crowley gathered with state and local elected officials, advocates and community members Friday to announce the introduction of the Silent Skies Act bill that will work to alleviate airplane noise pollution in neighborhoods surrounding LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports.

The new legislation will require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement regulations by the end of 2015 demanding commercial aircrafts to go from Stage 3 noise standards to Stage 4 noise standards, reducing the sound by 10 decibels.

“Airports can never be perfect neighbors, but we can take steps to make them better neighbors,” said Crowley. “While commercial aircraft can never be truly silent, we can make sure they are less disruptive to the families who live nearby and improve the quality of life in our communities, not just here in Queens but throughout the country.”

Advocates for the reduction of airplane noise say the loud engines disrupt sleep, distract students and drown out the noise of everyday life.

Although the FAA issued regulations that required all new commercial aircraft designs to meet these new noise standards, the new introduced legislation would also have the FAA phase out older and louder aircraft.

The Silent Skies Act will now require the FAA to bring in quieter engines at a rate of 25 percent of an airline’s planes every five years, with all commercial airlines meeting the new noise standards by 2035.

Here's more.

Laser interference on the rise

From WPIX:

The FBI is calling this a very serious and dangerous situation. Lasers can temporarily or permanently blind a pilot and crew.

There is a danger in the air, and it’s hurting the crews piloting airplanes at New York-area airports.

According to the FBI, the number of laser incidents targeting airplanes and pilots are increasing in New York City. In fact they’re up 17 percent since last year.

Law enforcement officials said the two most recent incidents happened on October 15, 2013. The first, at 7:35 p.m., involving Shuttle America flight 5973. In that instance, the FBI said, the aircraft cockpit was illuminated by a green laser on the final approach to La Guardia Airport.

The incident occurred approximately six miles from the runway, at 2,000 feet. The crew reported that the laser beam originated about a half mile west of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

The second incident occurred at 10:37 p.m. that same night. A private aircraft reported a green laser two miles southwest of La Guardia Airport while heading eastbound over the Triborough Bridge. The laser originated near the intersection of Broadway and Steinway Street in Queens.

No injuries were reported in either of those recent incidents at LGA, but several commercial pilots earlier this year suffered significant injury including a burnt retina.

Suffering for the sake of Long Islanders

From the Daily News:

The skies above northeast Queens have become deafening as helicopters comply with new routes designed to decrease the ear-splitting noise — for residents of Long Island.

Local leaders are calling on city and federal agencies to give residents a bit of peace and quiet and suspend the loudest routes.

“The noise and the vibration are unbearable,” said Alfredo Centola, president of the Malba Gardens Civic Association, which represents the wealthy, Queens community.

“It starts between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. and continues well past midnight,” Centola said of the noise, which is worst on weekends. “The houses shake. Things are falling off your shelves.”

The roar got louder last year after the Federal Aviation Administration mandated that choppers traveling between middle of Long Island and the Hamptons fly over water instead long-suffering dry-land residents.

As a result, many Hamptons-bound pilots fly over northeast Queens to reach the new Long Island route, a faster, cheaper and, for Queens residents, more annoying, way to go.

FAA rule change will make things more noisy

From CBS New York:

Local officials warn noise from airplanes over Queens could get worse if the federal government goes forward with a rule change.

As WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported, complaints about airplane noise are nothing new in Queens.

“You can’t hear yourself think because every time it stops, it starts again,” one resident said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is planning to change its rules so it can change flight plans without any environmental review.

The rule change will lead to more noise pollution for Queens and Nassau County, Rep. Steve Israel said.

“This is a bad rule for our quality of life, it’s a bad rule for our environment, it’s a bad rule for people who live in the vicinity of New York’s airports,” Israel said.

The congressman also relabeled the FAA “The Federal Arrogant Administration.”

The lawmakers have written a letter to the FAA asking the John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports are excluded from the new rules.

The public has two weeks left to comment on the impending rule change.

Queens residents can send comments through Sept. 30 by logging onto http://www.regulations.gov. They can also fax comments to the FAA at 202-493-2251 or mail them to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590-0001.

Now there are helicopters also making noise

From WPIX:

The FAA changed the flight path around LaGuardia last summer.

Neighbors have been trying to get the agency to reconsider the decision.

Now, they are noticing increased helicopter traffic.

"Noise torture" in Bayside

From WPIX:

All was quiet in Bayside Queens on Monday. This is rare because residents like Cecilia Cody say it is normally filled with, “Noise torture, that’s what it is.”

Cody has lived here for the past thirty-five years. However, it was only until recently that her nightly ritual started requiring a soft touch to block out the sounds overhead, “I put in earplugs to go to sleep. This is what we are left to deal with, it’s simply horrendous.”

What she is referring to is the sound from airliners utilizing a “TNNIS 4″ climb out of LaGuardia’s Runway 13. On Monday, major carriers were making their ascents in the opposite direction.

However, ever since early 2012 there has been a dramatic uptick in traffic heading over Bayside Queens and the surrounding areas due to the FAA opting to utilize a flying procedure called “TNNIS 4″ climbs.

Assemblyman Ed Braunstein lives in the district and is trying to change the pattern that become more prevalent more than 18-months ago. According to Braunstein, on certain days the takeoffs begin early, “Starting at 6:00 a.m. you can set your watch to it. You’ll have a plane going off once a minute.”

FAA imagery shows what the “TNNIS 4″ climbs look like compared to the Whitestone and Flushing climb in side-by-side imaging. The trajectory of the “TNNIS 4″ Climb is much more concentrated and the repeated ascents more accurate. The pink area that completely covers the map in one section reflect the ascents that are right on top of one another.

The reason for this is due to RNAV equipped aircraft which has improved settings and navigation.

According to a report, this is about de-conflicting airspace.

Assemblyman Braunstein agrees, adding, “It’s really the flight traffic at JFK drives the flight traffic at LaGuardia.”

However, what Assemblyman Braunstein along with other politicians at the local, state, and federal level are hoping for, is that the FAA conducts a study utilizing monitors on the ground to identify if measures need to be taken regarding the aforementioned, “noise torture.”

Shelly really milking transportation allowance

From the NY Post:

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver spent $20,219 in taxpayer money over the past three years jetting from New York City to Albany — but the top-flight pol turned easy 150-mile, one-hour jaunts into epic 500-mile, five-hour odysseys in a greedy quest to rack up frequent-flier miles, according to sources and expense records.

Instead of finding cheap flights that connect directly from New York City to Albany, or taking less-costly trains or automobiles, the second-most powerful man in the state takes long, expensive detours through Philadelphia or Washington, DC.

“He brags about his ability to build up mileage,” said one Albany insider. “Taxpayers are footing the bill to allow Shelly to fly halfway around the world on a mileage program.”

This year alone, the Democratic kingmaker and bill slayer submitted 21 claims for reimbursement, with an average round trip costing $354 — while his colleagues slummed it on $82 round-trip Amtrak trains or stuffed themselves into carpools that cost $210 for gas and tolls.

Yet Silver doesn’t need to fly. The state provides him with a $15,000 Ford Taurus for the three-hour drive from his Lower East Side home to the Capitol. The 69-year-old jet-setter barely uses his taxpayer-gifted 2011 sedan, claiming just $832.78 for gas this year.

Airplane noise is bad, but could be worse

An older flight map (l.) shows Flushing Airport just west of LaGuardia Airport, and its reserved airspace extending farther west over Queens. A later map shows the same airspace without Flushing Airport. Maps courtesy FAA

From the Times Ledger:

Many northeast Queens neighborhoods have complained recently about increased aircraft noise, but it could be worse.

Airspace regulations for a long-shuttered borough airstrip are actually keeping planes from flying closer to residential rooftops over parts of Whitestone, north Flushing, Bay Terrace, Douglaston and Little Neck, according to flight maps.

These maps are used by pilots to show where they can and cannot fly, and one place off limits to commercial aircraft leaving LaGuardia Airport is called the Flushing Exclusion Zone, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

This zone stretches from the site of the shuttered Flushing Airport — in-between Whitestone and College Point just west of the Whitestone Expressway — across the top portion of Queens. Over the areas of Whitestone and north Flushing, aircraft must stay above 1,200 feet, while above parts of Bay Terrace and northern Bayside, they must stay above 1,500 feet, according to the FAA and flight maps.

If the Flushing Exclusion Zone did not exist, the FAA would have the ability to fly aircraft as low as it wanted in these areas, although officials from the agency said at a recent meeting that they never route a plane lower than 1,000 feet above residential blocks.

The exclusion zone was created in the 1970s when airspace regulations were modified, according to the FAA, although Flushing Airport had been open since 1927.

The corridor was created as a pathway for smaller planes to get access to the airport through airspace normally used by larger commercial jets traveling to and from LaGuardia, the FAA said.

It's going to be noisier in northeastern Queens

From the Queens Courier:

A controversial airplane route that polluted the skies with noise during its trial run has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The “TNNIS Climb” — in which departing LaGuardia Airport traffic turns left to the north off Runway 13 — has been given the green light for takeoff, FAA officials said, even after borough leaders and residents said the changes caused a nonstop barrage of low-flying planes to torment their northeast Queens neighborhoods.

“Frankly, it is a disgrace the FAA has decided to go ahead with these departure changes, which will have a profound effect on the residents in northeastern Queens, without the proper input from the community,” said State Senator Tony Avella. “In this case, the FAA has decided to disregard the voice of the people.”

Borough Board members lambasted FAA officials in September, when they said they were not given notice about the six-month trial period that concluded in August.

The test was to ensure the required separation between John F. Kennedy International Airport arrivals and LaGuardia Runway 13 departures while using a new, precise navigation system called “RNAV,” said Ralph Tamburro, the agency’s New York traffic management officer.