City councilors pen letter to FAA, Massport on plane noise

A group of city councilors, including Jamaica Plain’s Matt O’Malley, have signed on to a letter addressed to Massport and the New England office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) raising concern over noise from airplanes coming and going from Logan International Airport.

Besides O’Malley, City Councilors Michelle Wu (at-large), Michael Flaherty (at-large), Annissa Essaibi-George (at-large), Ayanna Pressley (at-large), Tim McCarthy (District 5), and Andrea Campbell (District 4) signed the Sept. 11 letter.

“We are writing to express our concern in regard to the increasingly detrimental effects of airplane noise to the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, and West Roxbury,” the letter states. “Due to changes in the flight patterns out of the Logan International Airport, the neighborhoods are growing increasingly impacted, and we share the frustration felt by many of our constituents. Nearly every morning, planes begin to fly overhead at or before 6 a.m. and often continue essentially non-stop for hours at a time. This can negatively impact an individual’s sleeping pattern, acuity, and quality of life.”

The letter goes on to say residents are “accustomed to a reasonable level of noise” from planes, but that recent changes to flight paths have made it “unbearable.”

“We have noticed a quantifiable uptick in calls regarding the unbearable noise. Our own exponentially growing frustration with airplane noise leaves us gravely concerned about the quality of life in our neighborhoods if this issue is not addressed,” the letter states.

The letter mentions a MIT study currently underway that is studying the issue, but says in the meantime, the councilors hope a productive dialogue will lead to an alleviation of some of the noise.

Massport did not respond to a request for comment.

When the Gazette reached out to the FAA New England office, spokesperson Jim Peters replied in an email, “We received the letter from the Boston City Council today. We will respond directly to each member who signed the letter.”

 

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