What started out as routine runway maintenance at JFK this April has resulted in communities like Floral Park, New Hyde Park and South Floral Park receiving - to this day - the heaviest air traffic into JFK since the early 1970s.

The residents of these communities know very well that they are aligned with the path of only bad weather arrivals, e.g. pilots cannot see the ground, where planes are forced to lock on to the (Instrument Landing System) beacon located in the Village of Floral Park. Many people I have spoken to have assessed the value and purchased their homes based on this understanding. What they have been seeing over the last 10 months is the misuse of this system to redirect good weather approaches away from communities east of us and over our communities and homes.

It should be noted that Congresswoman McCarthy and Floral Park Mayor Phil Guarnieri have been in possession of a section from the FAA Operating Procedures Manual, dated Nov. 28, 2002, that disallowed pilots/carriers from using the approach routes immediately to the east of us from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. of the next day (16 continuous hours). There were no technical, scheduling or other plausible reasons given for this most egregious mandate!

We began to anticipate some relief in early June with Congresswoman McCarthy and Mayor Guarnieri agreeing to address nighttime flights and the 16-hour restriction. It is extremely important to note that we are impacted by usage of runways 22 Left and 22 Right. The FAA's nighttime runway selection - in order of priority - is as follows: Priority 1 - Runways 4 Left and 13 Right and Left; Priority 2 - Runways 4 Right and Left; and Priority 3 - Runways 4 Right, Left and runways 13 Right and Left. Runways 22 Left and Right should only be used after these alternatives become unavailable due to such factors as traffic or weather delays.

On the issue of the 16-hour restriction, Mayor Guarnieri announced this summer "Trustee Bambrick ... has finally received written confirmation from the FAA that they have rescinded a provision of the New York TRACON'S (Air Traffic Controllers) Standard Operating Procedure ..."

A review of the amended document confirms this specific restriction had been removed effective Aug. 26, 2005. I don't think you will find anyone in the flight path that would agree that either the restriction on the nighttime flights and rescinding of the 16-hour restriction are being enforced.

It is time for the residents of these communities to insist their elected officials stop blaming runway construction for these problems and begin to deliver on their promises to insure a fair and equitable distribution of air traffic in their districts.

Bob O'Gorman

Floral Park