Residents near Republic, East Hampton airports savor quieter skies

The coronavirus pandemic has quieted the skies and hushed the level of complaints from residents who live near Republic Airport in East Farmingdale and East Hampton Airport in Wainscott.

“All of the sudden, you could hear a pin drop,” said Karen Williams, president of the Woodland Civic Association in East Farmingdale. “I swear I haven’t heard one [an aircraft] for two months.”

In March, there were 24 reported noise complaints to Republic Airport and two in April, according to the state Department of Transportation. In March and April 2019, there were 21 and 18, respectively.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order closing all nonessential businesses March 20. Republic Airport closed its air traffic control tower on March 22 for two weeks after an airport personnel tested positive for COVID-19 . The control tower is still closed, but DOT spokesman Glenn Blain said the airport has remained open to support essential noncommercial aviation operations. Arlene Salac, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman, said the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control in Westbury is providing air traffic services for Republic Airport.

Nancy Cypser , 65, a trustee of the civic association, said that pre-pandemic she called in a couple of complaints a month to Republic. The civic group would send a representative to the bimonthly Republic Airport Commission meetings to review complaint calls, Cypser said. 

“It has been quieter since the pandemic began,” said Cypser, a 40-year Farmingdale resident. 

Jessica Santangelo, 41, of East Farmingdale, said before the coronavirus pandemic there were some days the noise from planes was constant and at night she would sometimes awake from a deep sleep.

“I haven’t noticed a big difference with the pandemic,” said Santangelo who works as a college professor and spends most of her time in the basement to avoid any noise.   

That's not the general sentiment on the East End, where aircraft traffic and noise have slowed since the pandemic but for years have rankled residents.

In Southold Town, seaplane taxiing, landings and takeoffs are prohibited in all town waters. Homeowners in Southold and Riverhead have complained about increased air traffic after a 2012 Federal Aviation Administration ruling mandated that helicopters fly over the North Shore. 

In East Hampton, there’s pressure to close the town-owned East Hampton Airport when federal mandates tied to grants expire in 2021. There’s a law proposed, officials said, which would prohibit seaplane landings, takeoffs and taxiing within 1,500 feet of the shore. A penalty would carry a fine of up to $5,000 and or 14 days in jail. 

These days, Barry Holden , a Noyac resident and member of the Southampton Town airport noise advisory committee, said residents are enjoying the relative peace out east.

A few small single-engine planes can still be seen, but the constant traffic of helicopters and other noisy aircrafts has mostly vanished, he said. Holden said the calm is reminiscent of the time before the proliferation of pay-by-the-seat charter services.

“Now you can hear the birds, you can feel the wind and spring has a certain fresh smell to it,” he said.