Originally Posted by
Mary2e
I used to live in Brooklyn about 15-20 minutes from JFK. I used to watch the planes on approach to JFK, much lower than 5000 feet and I didn't hear a thing. They were so low I could tell which airline it was from the tail markings.
The only plane I ever heard was the Concorde... and that made the windows shake.
I was just back there recently sitting in an old favorite restaurant and I immediately started watching the planes come in again.
I really don't think you'll hear them.
I used to live near Mary2e, but even closer to JFK - in a place called Canarsie (paging FTer Canarsie...) - and there is something call the Canarsie Approach to JFK. Planes were low, with gears down, which made for great planespotting, but the noise was never so bad that it bothered anyone. I do agree that the Concorde was louder. My friends in Howard Beach, much, much closer to JFK, had planes much lower overhead and I don't recall their complaining either.