TESTIMONY
Munira Kejida, Boerum Hill Resident, on Incessant Helicopter Noise and Health Impacts on Boerum Hill and Nearby Public Housing
3:15:00
·
135 sec
Kejida testifies about the constant disruption caused by low-flying helicopters over her neighborhood of Boerum Hill and the nearby Whitman and Gowanus public housing projects.
- The helicopters start flying overhead as early as 7:40 AM every day.
- Flights occur every 20 minutes until 8 PM, sometimes extending until 9:40 PM.
- The helicopters fly extremely low, just above people's heads.
- Kejida raises concerns about potential health impacts like high lead levels and increased cancer rates due to the helicopter emissions and noise in the area.
- A child living near Kejida recently passed away from brain cancer, which she suggests could be linked to environmental factors.
Munira Kejida
3:15:00
Good afternoon.
3:15:01
My name is Munira Kesida.
3:15:03
I live in Boram Hill, which is about 10 minute walk from the water hedge.
3:15:09
And I am here today just as a resident who's extremely nervous all day because of this sound, but also I wanted to speak on behalf of the people of the white Kauf and Gawanas housing projects.
3:15:26
It's Nisha.
3:15:27
I live in the shadows of these two projects.
3:15:29
I live Across the Street.
3:15:31
And let me say that we're a 10 minute walk from the water's edge so you can imagine how quickly a helicopter reaches overhead.
3:15:40
They fly very low over the water's edge over the water.
3:15:45
And by the time they get to these projects, they are not very high.
3:15:49
They fly so extremely low.
3:15:54
It's just above people's heads, and I have clocked it sometime they start at 7:40 every day, the particular company that's flying over our area.
3:16:04
7:40 every day on a good day.
3:16:07
I've clocked it at every 20 minutes.
3:16:09
Every 20 minutes, a helicopter is either going to Manhattan or coming from Manhattan.
3:16:15
Every 20 minutes, until about 8 PM.
3:16:18
Last night, it the last one came in at 9:40.
3:16:23
Now, if you restrict the hours of flying, all I anticipate is gonna happen.
3:16:29
We'll have them coming every 10 minutes.
3:16:32
Right?
3:16:32
It is so unfair.
3:16:34
Let me say something else.
3:16:35
Noise, of course, is a huge problem, but also our health.
3:16:39
A child in our building was found to have high blood, lead high lead blood content.
3:16:46
The pediatrician said it's pretty normal for city kids.
3:16:51
But we had a child two doors down die of a brain cancer recently, which I hear is on the uptick also brain cancer.
3:17:00
Probably coming from the lead content.
3:17:02
This was a five year old child.
3:17:04
So a $1,000,000 is spent on gasoline.
3:17:07
I heard from the helip ports.
3:17:09
Well, that that that $1,000,000 is being dumped on our heads, and we're getting cancer from it.