LETTERS

Sleepless in Warwick

Posted 1/18/23

To the Editor,

Remember when thundering jets taking off at Green woke us up in the middle of the night?

The same rude awakening was reported at 5:00 a.m. on September 14, 2022, when an airport …

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LETTERS

Sleepless in Warwick

Posted

To the Editor,

Remember when thundering jets taking off at Green woke us up in the middle of the night?

The same rude awakening was reported at 5:00 a.m. on September 14, 2022, when an airport neighbor was shaken out of his bed in Louisville, home of the United Parcel Service (UPS) air fleet. He posts on the airport complaint board:

“We just had one going to Dubi (Dubai) about 1500' over our house. His number was N624UP a 747-8F.  He shook our house -- unbelievable! They always fly lower at night. They have got to do something different.”

Aviation Herald, the aviation newspaper, reports that this very same plane experienced an engine fire on takeoff on July 20, 2021, in Hong Kong, headed for Dubai. The 747's emergency landing took about 8,200 feet, which would be most of T.F. Green’s runway.

Another sleepless individual in Louisville typed into the complaint board two days later, on September 16, 2022:

“I was just awakened at 3:45 a.m. by a UPS jet that was taking off. It rattled the windows. . . Not getting much sleep because of these jets taking off in the morning. It is every day now.”

So, why do we care here in Warwick?  Amazon is zeroing in on us. A new 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse is going up in the cornfield behind the old geodesic dome on Airport Road. The dome site will be a parking lot for trailer trucks, feeding freight planes coming in and out of T.F. Green International. Green will earn its name "International" the easy way. Open up the freight gates!

The RIAC Board has approved 273,000 sq. ft. of freight handling buildings at the airport in three phases, 92,000 sq. ft. of it leased to FedEx, which reports it ran out of space in Boston and needs to bring its planes here.  UPS is lining up for 39,300 sq. ft. This maxes out the proposed space at T.F. Green pictured in last week's Beacon. 

The airport plan calls for another 53,000 sq. ft. of space on Airport Road, making a total of 184,000 sq. ft. in Phase One. This last space is near the new Amazon warehouse going up behind the geodesic dome site on Airport Road. A parking area for trailer trucks is planned for the now empty lot.

The consultant presently preparing the 2023 Environmental Assessment (the EA), proposed a 53,000 sq. ft. integrated freight terminal during its 2007 T. F. Green Environmental Impact Study (EIS) meetings on the runway extension. It announced then that the freight terminal would bring in 150,000 freight planes to T.F. Green per year, or about 70 freight departures per business day.  That freight terminal project was deferred until now.

RIAC is trying to avoid doing another EIS. Ignoring their prior 70-planes-per-day claim in the EIS for the original 53,000 sq. ft. terminal, RIAC's new Vice President of Engineering anticipates only four to five large freight flights will come to T.F. Green daily.  This, she claims, will not impact the environment. Considering the words of the consultant back in 2007, this claim is not credible given the sizes of the terminals FedEx and UPS are leasing.  You don't borrow $100,000,000 for four to five planes per day! They don't generate enough revenue to pay off the large loan.

How many new planes will actually be coming in? The consultant has asked RIAC for $250,000 in additional EA funding to look at truck traffic and to take a quick look at the air traffic situation.

What will the consultants find?  Amazon is building one of the largest warehouses in the world in Johnston: 120 feet high and with 4 million sq. ft. of robots and storage space. The giant cranes peering over the hill on I-295 look like War of the Worlds monsters come to life. And where are the goods coming from to feed these monsters? My guess is T.F. Green. The consultant's original 70- planes-per-day estimate made 15 years ago may be much closer to reality than four or five per day.

Our City Fathers and Mothers are of course receptive to new jobs, but turn a blind eye to all those B787s and A330s buzzing in from Europe at night. They see it as part of the price we pay for living in a little heaven, which RIAC officials boast is within 75 minutes for three-quarters of the people in New England. The Mayor has some explaining to do! Do we really want to hear these flights all night long?

The RIAC Board also needs to explain the presence of a Board member whose partner is the lawyer for the Commerce Corporation. Its mission: creating jobs in Rhode Island.  Other RIAC Board members include:

*The former Mayor of Cranston. He is a union official, looking for those new construction jobs.

*A toy company executive, who ships toys all over the world.

 *The head of global sales for a major computer manufacturer’s media and entertainment operations. 

 *An investment securities manager. This project won’t fly without special bonds. He personally won't take part in the borrowing of hundreds of millions -- but he does support his industry.

 *A pilot. (He is the good guy. Flies out of Quonset.)

Are we to trust these people to have our best interests at heart? The proof is in the drawing of the 747s in the rendering given to the Beacon. Houses would surely shake were these big jets allowed to roar out of Warwick.  But the Johnston Warehouse Monster must be fed, after all.

Richard Langseth

170 Budlong Farm Road

Warwick, RI 02886

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  • latitude41

    Airports far larger than Green do not have 747-8 freighter service nor do they have nonstop destinations that would require them. Take a look at Manchester NH for a creditable example. It handles much of the freight for Northern half of the Boston marketing circle. Then check Hartford. Any fully loaded 747s or flights to Dubai etc. from those larger metro area or airports? Check the roster of flights by UPS, Fedex, PrimeAir at cities that dwarf ours across the country for a legitimate comparison. Louisville is a UPS hub in a strategic location of the country so your comparison, full of hyperbole, is irresponsible.

    Tuesday, January 24, 2023 Report this