| Westchester Nimbys
Guest Editorial
#G18 Westchester County's airport nimbys are the tail that wags the dog. Hear that shrill whining noise? No, it is not a jet plane. It's the airport neighbors. They make lots of noise about the noise produced by the airport. They don't want to hear airplanes taking off early in the morning. We all can sympathize. There are seemingly obvious points that the Nimby's ignore. A - the airport was there first. You move next to an airport, you have no business complaining about the noise. Airports, and all of the activities they generate, make noise. And B - the inconvenience of the few does not outweigh the needs of the many. There are realities conveniently ignored by that handful of people, and the paramecia politicians who wiggle when prodded. In 1998, the airlines agreed to a voluntary curfew, a limit on flights from midnight to 6:30 am. Since then, the demand for air travel has climbed like an empty jet, leaving airlines flying with crowded airplanes and jammed terminals. That goes for people in Westchester County, by the way, who are high on the list of frequent flyers, like most wealthy counties. So, the County Exec wants to keep people from going to the parking garage until 6:30 am .. thereby denying the airline its passengers. It actually denies passengers from all through the region the opportunity to take a 6-AM out of White Plains. The FAA has approved the slot. Why? Because, you - the traveling public have put such demand on the system, that more airplanes must fly. Anyone, including anyone from Westchester, who's wrestled with the crowds at LaGuardia, or Newark, or JFK understands that. Anyone .. except for the few who live near the airport. © MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. |