Community Corner
Quogue Association Members Fed Up With Airport Noise
Consider Drafting Petition About Loud Planes and Jets.
Quogue Village residents plan to unite to quiet the constant airplane and helicopter noise coming from Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton.
At a Quogue Association meeting Saturday morning, Brett Pinto of Quogue floated the idea of creating an online petition that demands pilots use a runway at the airport that does not send aircraft over Quogue Village. The deluge of noise complaints originating from Quogue going to the airport have had little effect, but a petition may, she said.
Paul Mejean, a member of the Quogue Association, encouraged Pinto to look into the petition. Paul Dietche of Quogue, a member of the association, who is also involved in Gabreski citizens’ groups, added that other plans at Gabreski have the potential to further impact the quality of life in Quogue.
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He cited Quogue-based Ocean Aviation’s plans to build 25 hangars on the property, as well as the three-story hotel in the that will overlook Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton.
Mejean said many of the pilots use the shorter runway at the airport. The longer one takes more time and gas to taxi down, he said.
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“Quogue has done it before,” Pinto said about the power of the petition. She said a similar effort led Southampton Town to ban recreational vehicles from parking on Dune Road. Concerns about the water quality of Shinnecock Bay fueled the movement, she said.
The large volume of noise complaints are coming from only a few homes, she said. Getting 1,000 signatures or so on the petition would give the village more weight dealing with the airport. Still, pilots are allowed to choose which runway they use, Dietche said.
Residents who wish to file noise complaints can do so through the websites of the Coalition Against Airport Pollution or Suffolk County.
The Quogue Association also distributed cards to homes in the village to rally residents against the noise.
Helicopters flying as low as 200 feet above the sand are an issue, too, said EJ Reinoso of Quogue. There have been ongoing efforts at the federal level to address helicopter flight paths to the East End.
Anthony Ceglio, airport manager at Gabreski said wind has played a part in excess noise. To hear what he had to say, click .
