Residents Seek to Upgrade Soundproofing in Homes

It’s a tiny community, and on a cold night you could almost hear a pin drop, until an airplane blasts its way down the runway as the engines are pushed to full throttle, lifting the plane over the homes on Point Shirley.

More than 35 people attended the Point Shirley Neighborhood Association meeting Monday night. Dawn Quirk of the Airport Hazards Advisory Board and resident Gina Casetta headed the meeting.

Casetta noted that in 2015 – over 81,000 departures and arrivals came over Point Shirley. In 2016 there was a 7,000-flight increase. In 2017 there was an increase of 3,000 flights. Currently there are over 91,000 departures and arrivals over Point Shirley.

Casetta is spear heading a petition drive to get updated soundproofing for property owners in Winthrop. Windows installed in the 1980s and 1990s are now failing, Quirk said. Added to the increase in air traffic to noise is becoming unbearable for residents.

During the meeting several airplanes took off from Logan drowning out the speaker at the neighborhood association.

“The patterns have changed and will change again because Terminal E is expanding,” Quirk said.

She claims that the planes are taking off lower and with more frequency.

“I feel the soundproofing of homes needs to be revisited,” Casetta said, adding that she has clocked departures at every 23 seconds. There are no times when the airport shuts down, it operates 24/7. Also noted was that Winthrop owns 33.3 percent of the airport, including runways.

“Without our land they would be shut down,” Casetta said.

Quirk said there will soon be a new CEO at Massport.

Precinct 3 Councilor Nick LoConte said, “this has become a disaster for this area. The question is what are we going to do about it?” He’d said that he wants to see a more equitable distribution of noise and he wants to make sure the Town is getting just compensation with the mitigation funds.