TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—A local representative on a committee to reduce jet aircraft noise said they will continue to speak out against the persistent jet noise that plagues the Pascack Valley during quarterly advisory committee meetings held at Teterboro Airport.
The next quarterly meeting of TANAAC, the Teterboro Aircraft Noise Abatement and Advisory Committee, is Wednesday, April 16 at 6 p.m., in person only, at the Teterboro Airport Administration Building, 90 Moonachie Ave., Teterboro. Subsequent meetings are 6 p.m. on July 16 and Oct. 15.
Township resident Mary Ellen Stickel told council members on April 7 that the local grassroots anti-jet noise group, known as TANS2 (Taxpayers for Aircraft Noise Solutions and Safety), attends the quarterly TANAAC meetings and is always seeking new members.
TANAAC was established in 1987 to work with communities within five miles of Teterboro Airport to improve residents’ quality of life and support more considerate airport operations. The advisory committee includes representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Teterboro Airport management.
Efforts by Pascack Valley towns to gain a seat on TANAAC have so far been unsuccessful. The Pascack Valley Mayors Association, which includes 10 towns—eight Pascack Valley municipalities plus Oradell and Old Tappan—was previously denied membership by a vote of TANAAC’s 16 existing member communities.
Stickel said TANS2 works to educate residents about how flight operations impact daily life.
“I know this is a horrible thought, but I think we are one plane crash away from really waking up about this all,” she said.
Stickel said she and Audrey Herget of Park Ridge, another active member of TANS2, will attend the April 16 meeting.
She asked Councilman Tom Sears if the Montclair State University students who are scheduled to conduct tree canopy testing this year might also be able to measure air quality from private jet emissions. Sears said he would look into the possibility.
She also requested that the township include TANS2 information on its website to help attract new members. Mayor Peter Calamari said he “would make that happen.”
Council President Michael DeSena noted that towns closer to Teterboro in southern Bergen County were receiving grants to install classroom air conditioning systems due to air quality concerns. He said airport officials had “spent millions upon millions of dollars” on grants for nearby schools—funding new windows, air conditioners, and roofs.
DeSena suggested officials ask whether Pascack Valley towns might also be eligible for such grants, although he suspected any request would be met with excuses.
“We are impacted by this every day… we’re in the flight path, we hear these planes every day, every minute, and they’re flying over our houses. It’s scary,” DeSena said.
Sears added that on a recent Saturday afternoon, he counted aircraft overhead about every 90 seconds, with helicopters flying below the planes as they passed.
Calamari said he would ask grants consultant David Biunno to explore possible funding opportunities from the Port Authority or FAA. Stickel noted she and Herget are planning a meeting with Assemblyman Robert Auth, a pilot, to discuss the jet noise concerns.
Stickel said few pilots opt to use the alternate flight path over Route 17, though it is likely quicker. The decision on which approach to use when landing at Teterboro is left to the pilot’s discretion, FAA officials have previously said.