February 25, 2008

SUPPORT OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 18 - A RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE AIRSPACE REDESIGN OVER SOUTHWEST CONNECTICUT BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

To the Transportation Committee:

I am grateful to the members of the Transportation Committee and its Chairmen, Representative Guerrera and Senator DeFronzo, for the opportunity to submit this testimony to the Committee and for considering House Joint Resolution No. 18 opposing the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed redesign of the Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Airspace, which will greatly and adversely affect my constituents and their families in Stamford and New Canaan. I strongly endorse the language of the resolution and urge that it be adopted.

The communities I represent are largely residential.  The redesign will generate more traffic and increase the noise to an unacceptable level, directly threatening our quality of life, the value of our homes and the quality and character of our community. I understand that the FAA must ensure that air traffic patterns are safe and efficient, but I do not believe that sufficient attention has been paid to the concerns of our community and the adverse impact on our neighborhoods. Although there have been some public meetings concerning this issue, I believe that these proposed changes have been pushed through by the FAA largely without our review and input.

I have worked with the City of Stamford and the Town of New Canaan to coordinate their efforts with a host of other municipalities in opposition to the proposed redesign, and successfully requested that the City of Stamford join in the legal fight against the FAA. I also organized a citizens letter writing drive to our federal legislators.

I have written to and personally urged our federal legislators to stop any further action on this process until the public, and our community in particular, has a meaningful and adequate opportunity to learn more about the FAA's proposed redesign, to conduct our own analysis, and to present our comments and objections in a public forum.  I hope that the Transportation Committee and our General Assembly will call for the same.