Living under JFK, LaGuardia flight paths not a dealbreaker for homebuyers

As an airplane rumbled over her home in Valley Stream, Christlyn Flavius didn't lose her train of thought. She's lived here for about 20 years, and doesn't even hear the landings and departures anymore.

"I've gotten used to it," said Flavius, who works at BJ's Wholesale Club. The mother of two said she doesn't see her family moving anytime soon.

Flavius is one of many Long Islanders who live close to the flight paths of LaGuardia and Kennedy airports. Several longtime homeowners in these areas, including Malverne and Valley Stream, say they aren't affected by the noise anymore. And a real estate agent familiar with the communities says that for potential homebuyers battling the Island's sky high costs and record-low inventory, it's not much of a dealbreaker.

What the data says

In January, 2,724 noise complaints were made regarding Kennedy, and 2,252 noise complaints were filed about LaGuardia, according to reports by the Port Authority, citing complaints submitted to its PlaneNoise system.

The community with the most households to submit Kennedy-related noise complaints in January was New Hyde Park, with 13, while 17 households in Flushing submitted complaints regarding LaGuardia.

Nearly

4,000 households filed noise complaints

about JFK and LaGuardia in January. 

13 households in New Hyde Park submitted about JFK

while

17 Flushing households filed complaints about LaGuardia

For the Kennedy-related complaints, that includes 11 households in Valley Stream and six in Malverne. The number of households to issue complaints in Malverne has doubled since December. 

The villages of Malverne and Valley Stream are represented in the Town-Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee. The group meets monthly and has been active for 30 years. According to its website, the committee's mission is to "promote the health, safety and quality of life for the residents of the Town of Hempstead by reducing aircraft noise" by raising concerns to state and federal officials.

Earlier this month, Rep. Tom Suozzi wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration leadership regarding the potential effects on health and quality of life that come from living in communities with ongoing aircraft noise. That includes increased stress and risk of heart disease, the congressman wrote.

A recent study conducted by Boston University's School of Public Health and Oregon State University found that subjection to moderate amounts of airplane noise can cause disrupted sleep of less than seven hours a night.

What the neighbors say

Flavius said there was more noise when she first moved to the neighborhood, compared with now. And any disruption is outweighed by her love for the community: Being able to walk to the grocery store and pharmacy, and the diversity of her neighborhood are important factors to her.

"I like that it's close to everything, like the city, and I like that I know my neighbors," she said. "And I like to see the kids run up and down the street; it reminds me of when I was a kid."

Ron Whelan, of Malverne, has been living in his home for 25 years. It was the third house he and his wife looked at after they got engaged.

"I fell in love with it," said Whelan, who works in land development. "And the area is just great; it's a great atmosphere."

His wife works at Kennedy Airport, but Whelan said he only flies between three and four times a year. Flavius has family in Grenada, so she flies there once or twice a year.

As more people have moved in, Flavius and other neighbors say their block in Valley Stream has become pretty congested with street parking. While the airplane noise is more noticeable on summer days, it mostly fades into the background, she said.

Maria Vera, a 28-year resident of Malverne, agreed.

"It's in the summer when the planes are flying lower, and I only really hear it when I'm outside," Vera said. "In the summer, we run the AC and have the windows closed."

But she and her neighbors are out and about more during that time of year, because there are many pet owners on her block.

"In the summer, it's a dog parade here," she said with a laugh.

A real estate expert's take

Kaitlynn McCartney, a real estate agent with Compass in Oceanside, said regarding clamor over aircraft noise, her clients stay silent.

"I never hear one peep about that, from any of the new buyers that I'm working with," she said.

McCartney primarily works with millennial and Generation Z homebuyers. If anything, Long Islanders who take issue with this kind of consistent noise tend to skew older, the agent said.

"It's more from the people who have lived on Long Island for so long, and have seen the difference" in flight noise over the years, McCartney said.

But for younger buyers, specifically coming from out of town, there's a different mindset.

"If there's somebody coming from any of the five boroughs, it's kind of just part of their everyday living anyway, you know, noise of any sort," she said.

As for homes near other transportation hubs, like highways or Long Island Rail Road stations, McCartney said buyers are split down the middle.

"There are buyers that won't even look at a house because there's a train around the block, and then there are buyers who want the house because the train is around the block," she said. "So it really just depends on the buyer, their needs and what their priority is."