Sorry-- i am home today, and posting from my slow as molasses home connection, so i came to this topic late.

Yes, JFK is far a way-- Queens is over 100 square miles-- small for a county but big enough. it is upsetting news, but it has seemed to me, that JFK was long over due for a landing/take off crash. the local population, bought houses and land there because it was cheap and noisy. and once in the area, made a big stink about the noise! so the flight patterns call for steep banks, even as the plane is gaining altitude.. and the opposite, with landing.. the landing/run way lights run out onto a local highway(Belt Parkway) and the road lights are lower, and there are no over head sign.. FAA is afraid they might interfer with planes.. (which is pretty scary when you think about it-- an over head road sign is high enough to interfere with landing gear.. that road is way to close to air port/runway.) but i take the road at least once a month, when i have to work in office in NJ.
Every knows, that JFK one of those airports you avoid if you can, since it is more dangerous than average--

LAG, on the other hand, is much safe, more popular, and has the worst on time performance of any airport in US-- and i bet it make the top 10 in the world. Oh the joys of NY!

JFK is on south shore-- i live on north shoreone of the less fancy areas on the north shore, and inside NYC limits, but far away from JFK --(actually the local highways are pretty good--20 minutes on average.) and Dave (inselpeter) lives and works in Manhattan.


my other obsession