At the Tuesday, Aug. 8, Floral Park village board meeting, Trustee Gerry Bambrick reported that he is again seeking Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's assistance as the village tries to move toward the goal of a more equitable distribution of air traffic.

Specifically, the village is seeking the compilation of data regarding the selection of the ILS (instruments approach) and VOR (visual approach) to Runway 22. "We are seeking not only raw numbers as to how many times the ILS approach was used versus the VOR approach in a given period but also why the ILS approach was chosen over the VOR approach," Trustee Bambrick said. "For example, as we understand the selection criteria, when Kennedy Tower selects Runway 22 for arrivals, TRACON will select the ILS approach if visibility is poor. However, there are often instances when the visibility appears clear and the ILS approach will continue to be utilized even though it had been in continuous use for the prior few days."

Trustee Bambrick, who vows to continue to be persistent in following up on this matter, noted there are several reasons for seeking this information. "First we believe it is only natural that the air traffic will be more evenly distributed if those responsible for making the selection know that information is being traced on a systemized basis. Second, it gives us an objective criteria against which to gauge the distribution of the air traffic. And, finally, it gives us the ability to explain to our residents more precisely how much of the air traffic we are actually receiving and explain why the ILS approach is being used on certain days."

Mayor Phil Guarnieri added that there have been many complaints about the number of jets that fly over the village and the seemingly unequal distribution of flights over Floral Park as opposed to those over neighboring villages.

"We have earnestly been requesting TVASNAC (Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee) to hold a meeting at Floral Park Village Hall so that our residents have the opportunity to receive information and have their questions answered," the mayor said.

"We are also asking JFK Tower personnel and [the] Aviation Development Council to be present at this meeting. We are hoping that this meeting will take place in either late August or September. TVASNAC meetings are always conducted in Lawrence Village but we are anxious to have a meeting in our community where aircraft noise is a major concern," Mayor Guarnieri continued.

According to village officials, that meeting will take place Monday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Floral Park Village Hall courtroom.