To the Editor:

I remember over a dozen years ago when Steve Schreiber telephoned me and told me about a Quiet Zone (QZ) Committee he was putting together. Steve told me there was a way to eliminate the train horn sounding from our over 60 trains per day that pass through our little corner of the world, which we call Voorheesville.

Having endured the horn for over 30 years at the time of Steve’s phone call, I was all ears (no pun intended) as he talked about QZs.  I immediately offered to run over to Home Depot, buy a couple 10-foot pieces of lumber, and attach them to the existing cross bars at our two village crossings. I would even buy the appropriate paint to match the crossing colors.

No, unfortunately, Steve explained the process was not quite that simple.

So the QZ Committee was formed, and over 300 residents signed petitions that were handed to the village officials requesting the establishment of a QZ. Studies were ordered, with the eventual determination that each crossing would cost approximately $200,000. Given we have two crossings, the total would be $400,000.

Eventually, money was found from the state, with our district representatives coming up with the necessary funding. All this is old history and well known throughout the community (except for my initial offer to buy the paint and the lumber).

Sean Mulkerrin of The Altamont Enterprise recently wrote an excellent article on the history and current status of the QZ [“Voorheesville quiet zone stalls over CSX fees, typical of nationwide conflicts,” The Altamont Enterprise, May 2, 2025].

He noted in the article that the mental and physical health benefits of eliminating the train horns have been well reviewed. The stress levels caused by sleep disturbance, hearing loss, and overall detrimental tension as train horns sounding at 110 to 140 decibels while rumbling through our village.

But what I have not seen discussed are the financial benefits of quieting the trains. For when I request information on the internet as to how much property values are affected by train horns, the results are astounding.

Study after study, of dozens of articles, shows a 14- to 40-percent increase in home value, depending upon the distance from the blowing horn. Or put the other way, our homes have lost 14 to 40 percent by being located near the tracks, with distance to the bellowing horn determining the percentage loss.

There are over 1,000 quiet zones in the United States, with more being built all the time. I am now told annual maintenance costs on our crossings are being employed to hold up the process, with costs ranging from $20,000 to $50,000.

This should not be a deal breaker! Simple math: If a $350,000 home — typical Scotchpine or Salem Hills house — could increase in value by 14 percent by quieting the horn, that’s $49,000 increase in value.

A $20,000 maintenance tab costs each of our 1,200 homes in the village $16.66 (and if it were $50,000, the cost would be $41.66). One doesn’t have to be Warren Buffett to realize what a magnificent investment we would all realize by quieting the horns!

As my grandkids have stated many times to me, “Pops, it’s a no-brainer!” So let’s get this done sooner rather than later. It’s gone on for far too long. It’s affecting our mental health, physical health, and property values. It’s a “no-brainer,” and we need to move forward. 

Steve Greenberg

Voorheesville

Editor’s note: See related editorial