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Public invited to hear helicopter committee update

Residents concerned about ongoing helicopter noise can turn out for a new informational meeting of Southold Town’s helicopter noise steering committee.

The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, at 9 a.m. at the town’s recreation center on Peconic Lane.

Highlights of the gathering include a review of the effects of the East Hampton town board’s changes to the flight policies at East Hampton’s airport this summer, said Councilman Bob Ghosio, liaison to the committee.

In addition, an update will be given on ongoing legal proceedings, the group will review the most recent complaint statistics, and a discussion will be held on the proposed North Shore flight extension path around Plum Island, and “what more can be done to incite change,” said Ghosio.

The public is invited to attend.

Southold Town has been proactive in bringing together residents to hear concerns and determine an action plan.

In August, a second helicopter noise forum was held; residents, overwhelmed by a summer of helicopter noise they said was even worse than last year demanded that the Federal Aviation Administration and United States senators hear their cries for relief from helicopter noise.

Kevin Dowling, legislative aide for Congressman Lee Zeldin, said helicopter noise was a critical issue. “This is a huge priority for us,” he said.

Dowling pointed out that Zeldin authored an amendment to ensure that the FAA would not use any new funding to act against East Hampton Town in regard to its efforts to regulate helicopter noise.

Mattituck resident Teresa McCaskie, who’s taken the lead on local efforts to get officials to sit up and take action, said the problem is not unique to Southold. “We all have to work together to find resolution,” she said.

Kathleen Cunningham of the Quiet Skies coalition agreed.

Giving the history of the East Hampton town board’s efforts, Cunningham said the board has worked hard to impose meaningful restrictions. But, she said, their efforts have been challenged by aviation organizations, “heavy hitters and big players that don’t want to see this airport regulate itself.”

East Hampton recently appealed a Supreme Court injunction against legislation that would restrict noisy aircraft operations at the town’s airport to one trip a week.

Back in April, the East Hampton town board adopted three local laws meant to impose use restrictions on airport operations.

Opponents slapped the town with a lawsuit in federal court. Federal District Court Judge Joanna Seybert upheld two local laws instituting year-round curfews: one, a mandatory nighttime curfew from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and the other, an extended curfew on noisy aircraft, from 8 p.m. until 9 a.m.

In late June, Seybert placed an injunction on the one restriction that would restrict trips to once a week. The other two laws have been in effect and enforced since July 2.

The three use restrictions were intended to work together to curb aircraft noise and provide relief to residents, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said.

A much-debated fourth restriction, which would have banned all helicopter traffic on weekends, from Thursday to Monday during the height of the summer season, was ultimately not included in the vote.

On December 31, the town of East Hampton let expire four FAA grant assurances, taking back the reins in terms of overseeing its airport. For years, East Hampton had its hands tied and could not regulate hours of operation and number of flights after accepting funding from the FAA.

But despite “slow progress,”, Cunningham said without the regulation limiting trips to once a week, the “curfews are basically useless. In fact, it’s made traffic worse because it compresses, into a shorter period of time, the same traffic as before,” she said.

Cunningham said the Quiet Skies Coalition is still working to encourage the East Hampton town board to resurrect its pitch for a weekend ban on helicopters.

Still, Cunningham said, there has been good news: East Hampton hired “top-notch litigator” Kathleen Sullivan; she also said there has been a little bit of positive news from the FAA, which “has modified its position on fighting the preliminary injunction.”

Good neighbors

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell thanked the East Hampton town board, an ally after years of pleas falling upon deaf ears. “The tone and tenor have changed. The supervisor and board have shown great courage and leadership. They have shown us they want to be good neighbors.”

Cantwell said together, the restrictions would have reduced the number of landings at the East Hampton airport from 4,000 to 1,000 per year, or 75 percent. “This was very meaningful, well-thought-out, documented and supported legislation,” Cantwell said.

Important to note, Cantwell said, was that the judge ruled in East Hampton’s favor on its right to restrict landings and have some local control over the airport.

And that’s why, Cantwell said, the board refused to take FAA funding. “We really do believe local control of the airport is more important than taking federal dollars.”

One resident suggested a social media petition.

David Gruber, chair of East Hampton’s airport noise subcommittee, said he’s been working on the issue for 17 years. “We need the Senate or nothing can happen.”

He said that Assemblyman Fred Thiele had introduced legislation that would allow for a bonding period, critical to East Hampton supporting itself without FAA funding in the future; also,another piece of legislation would allow for a permissive referendum should any future East Hampton board try to accept funding from the FAA.

“It’s unending”

Realtor Marie Beninati, who lives on Cedar Beach in Southold, said on a recent Monday, her day off, she heard 17 flight overhead in 133 minutes, one every eight minutes. “It’s unending.”

Beninati suggested a monitoring system to record data, a system she said would be “far more effective and precise,” rather than “hit or miss”.

Paula Flaherty of Mattituck suggested hiring a bus and heading to DC, to let the voices of the community be heard.

“I don’t want to ride a bus,” said Margaret Skabry of Peconic. “I want to stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet. It’s nonsense. I’m fed up.”

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