Local Officials In Bergen County Had Been Told Of Proposal Last Year

The FAA earlier this month informed local officials in Bergen County, NJ that it was planning changes in flight paths around Teterboro Airport, which some officials said caught them by surprise.

But it should not have been. NorthJersey.com reports that the FAA and airport officials had told local politicians about the proposed changes a year ago.

The new route, which goes into effect April 4 for a six-month trial period, will take aircraft about 1.5 miles west of the current published corridor to avoid the Hackensack University Medical Center.

The website reports that as soon as the proposed change was made public last April, Fred Dressel, co-chairman of the Teterboro Aircraft Noise Abatement Advisory Committee, suggested that the committee immediately contact the towns that would be affected. His co-chair Renee Spann sent letters to the mayors of 10 cities and towns warning of the "potential for an increase in air traffic over parts of your community."

The mayors were also invited to a meeting in April of last year to discuss concerns. Spann shared the minutes of the meeting as well as a copy of the letter with the newspaper The Record. Only three towns sent a representative to the meeting.

Of those that did attend, Ridgewood, NJ mayor Paul Aronsohn said that his town's representative "didn't learn very much" at the meeting.

Dressel said that TANACC tried to be proactive about notifying local communities about potential noise increases, and State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) agreed. “If TANAAC sent this and asked for input, I think that was the responsible and appropriate thing to do," she told the paper.

FMI: www.panynj.gov/airports/teb-projects.html