Imagine waking up every morning to the roar of planes flying overhead every two minutes, from early dawn, until 2am. You have to wear earplugs. You have to wear noise-cancelling headsets. You can’t open a window, read, or work on anything creative, because this relentless noise continues for 18 hours a day. You have to wait until the planes stop at 2am to even begin to try to go to sleep. And they’re back at it again, at 7am on the dot.

Despite living 14 miles away from LaGuardia Airport, that is the new reality for my neighborhood, all because a digital adjustment moved a flight path directly over us. And despite all the reaching out to every local rep imaginable, there’s been no interest, no concern, or no ability to help.

This appears to be because, when it comes to flight paths, communities have little to no rights: planes come first. And if you live within 15 miles of an airport, at the whim of a computer program, a flight path could be moved directly over you. You would not be informed. Local reps are not part of this decision-making process. The change would happen overnight, and you could spend years fighting it after the fact, in court. Or worse, and as so often is the case: be forced to move. And as we know in NYC, that is not always easy, let alone affordable.

Numerous studies confirm the adverse effects of prolonged exposure to aircraft noise, which include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stress, and sleep disturbances. The World Health Organization has highlighted the need for communities to be protected from excessive noise pollution.

Despite claiming to know all of this, The FAA continues to plot flight paths over densely populated residential areas. And they’ve done exactly this, with mine.

In this petition’s specific instance, redirecting the flight path to fly over the local train and bus depot at 9th Avenue presents a tangible solution.

This area is already accustomed to industrial noise, and rerouting flights would alleviate the burden on residential and educational zones, and create a more harmonious balance between the airport's operations and the surrounding community's needs.

It's crucial that the Federal Aviation Administration revises this existing flight path to ensure they reflect the welfare of the community they impact. 

It is also imperative our leaders begin to look into serious community protections, and implement noise-code standards that planes must adhere to. Local representatives must be part of these flight change conversations, to better assist in identifying the best areas for planes to fly over. Communities need to be actively informed when these changes are coming, and if they are permanent. Grants for soundproofing must be extended to communities forced to live under new & permanent flight paths, particularly if the distance of 15 miles away is being treated as if it’s part of an airport runway. 

Planes and their passengers need to be safe, but citizens on the ground need to have recourse and rights for their quality of life as well.

I urge you to sign this petition and support our community in reclaiming our right to a peaceful home environment. Because at this point, with flight paths, we have none.