31°
Taxpayers for Airport Noise Solutions (TANS) is a new organization that has formed to give a voice to those grievances. The group has circulated a petition, which has almost 900 signatures, requesting the FAA change the flight plans for flights into Teterboro Airport Runway 19 by having them fly over Route 17, a less residential area.
TANS is an offshoot of Teterboro Aircraft Noise Abatement Advisory Committee (TANAAC), a group formed in 1987 for nearby residents and the airport to work together to discuss noise abatement solutions. But Pascack Valley residents felt their voices weren't being heard and decided to take a different course of action.
Audrey Herget, a Park Ridge resident, was one of the founders of TANS. She said on a recent Monday morning, seven to eight jets flew over her house in a 30 minute span.
"I was so frustrated," Herget said. "The volume of air traffic has just exploded, especially private jet traffic. It's noisy and a threat to environment. There's so many of them, it has to change."
Herget would like to see air traffic controllers make the flight path over Route 17 the preferred route for pilots.
"If it's too complex for air traffic controllers, maybe reduce the volume of flights," Herget said.
Carlos Rendo, the Mayor of Woodcliff Lake, said the planes negatively impact the quality of life for his constituents.
"Our residents cannot enjoy our backyards without the constant roar of planes," Rendo said. "The planes are constant. They are two minutes apart and low flying."
Rendo said he has heard very little from the FAA about his complaints.
"The issue has been going on for years," Rendo said. "We're continuing to put pressure on the FAA. It's the only thing we can do right now.
The noise has only gotten worse over the last two years as private air travel has increased, Warren Feldman, a Woodcliff Lakes resident, said.
"Teterboro Airport was used for old prop planes or business jets, and now it's become more popular, it seems to be operating almost like a commercial airport," Feldman said. "You have planes carrying 10 to 15 passengers. We don't think it was intended for that."
Feldman would like to see the FAA, the airport and the Port Authority come together and modify the route for planes so it doesn't create so much pressure on the affected neighborhoods.
"They go right over these residential areas and fly very low," Feldman said. "You get a jet every two minutes. It's an inappropriate and unreasonable penetration of noise."
Feldman said the airport and the Port Authority have been receptive to their complaints and have tried to get charter airlines to comply.
"We're not asking to eliminate all flights, we're just asking for modification," Feldman said. "We need engineering minds to come to the task here. Work with us and let's work at this. We understand how complex it is. Something must be done about the noise pollution. We don't think the airports were designed for this kind of destiny."
The flight path over Route 17 was briefly implemented in 2016, only to be terminated because pilots felt it was too much work, as reported by Daily Voice at the time. Utilizing the flight path requires pilots manually enter landing waypoint, and according to the FAA, that means more "heads down" time when they're supposed to be flying.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
