CHAPPAQUA. N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Westchester County will install noise monitors in some residents’ backyards after many complained about constant disruptions from airplanes over their homes.
As WCBS 880’s Mike Smeltz reported, the Westchester County Airport sits about eight miles from Chappaqua, where a recent change in flight patterns have turned the skies into a highway for airplanes.
“It’s not anger, no. I’m not angry about it. It’s an annoyance,” said resident Jeff Kuduk.
He says roughly every five minutes, a plane buzzes over his backyard and when he notice the flight pattern change, which was implemented last fall, he did a deep dive on Facebook to find out what could be done about the constant disruptions.
He says he “jumped on to (the Facebook group) ‘Chappaqua Moms’ to find out ‘who do I call?’”
Kuduk contacted the county and was given one of their new mobile noise monitoring systems – a device that looks similar to a briefcase with a lacrosse stick attached to it.
The county has seven of the devices set up in multiple backyards in the flight paths.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer says the data recorded from the monitors will be used in discussion with the Federal Aviation Administration to alter flights patterns.
“We'll give them enough information that hopefully they'll be able to say, ‘well, we could do these two or three things and that would reduce the burden that Jeff has. Somebody else might have a little more increased burden that wouldn't necessary come to the level that Jeff has now,’” Latimer said.