NYC (i.e., the City Council) is the landlord of JFK and LGA airports.
The City receives, in addition to rent, a 10% override on the total revenue generated by the airport.
That means more passengers = more planes = more revenue for the City of New York.
Below you will find some excerpts from the lease between NYC and the Port Authority of New York / New Jersey.
A careful read of the following lease clauses will reveal that the City of New York benefits from increased air travel to the airport, which means the City of New York is incentivized to increase aircraft noise and pollution.
That’s quiet a surprise especially when you have our Mayors speaking out of one side of their mouth about “making New York City green” and “reducing pollution” while they make deals with the airlines, real estate interests and the Port to actually increase air traffic to our City which only puts a greater burden on our citizens’ health.
Please contact your City Council-members and demand that they bring pressure to bear upon the FAA and Port Authority to reduce aircraft noise and pollution. Unless they stand up for the citizens of New York City in this regard, you can easily call them enablers of aircraft noise and pollution (as well as profiteers from the airports).
In fact the City of New York is a carcinogenic and fossil fuel enabler: the City should be looking for solutions that other, first-world cities have figured out long ago. That is, for a city to be liveable you move the airports outside the densely-packed environs of a city. To do anything otherwise is plane (sic) stupid.
Don't let the politicians say they are pro-environment when the City itself benefits from the air pollution and noise the airlines bring to our City.
Questions? Contact NextGenNoise.org. We have a full copy of the lease between NYC and the Airports.