Planning Meeting for NYC Helicopter Task Force
According to the Helicopter Noise Coalition of NYC, the NYCEDC will be co-hosting a planning meeting, this Thursday, January 22, 2009 for the New York City Helicopter Task Force. In addition to the NYCDC and the Helicopter Noise Coalition of NYC, Groups to be attending the meeting are said to include, the FAA, and various elected officials, including Gale Brewer of the City Counsel. If you have a concern that you would like to have voiced at the meeting, please contact Jesse Bodire, of Gale Brewer’s office. Jesse can be reached at (212) 873-0282. You can also email Gale Brewer at brewer@council.nyc.ny.us.
UWS Noise Complaints Spark Media Buzz
Tourist Helicopter at West Side Heliport (Photo by J. Breinholt)
On Friday January 2, 2009, Gale Brewer of the City Council conducted a Press Conference at the 30th Street Heliport on the West Side of Manhattan. Brewer raised the issue of complaints received from her Upper West Side constituency regarding helicopter noise. Regarding the conference, New York 1 wrote that the EDC is planning to have a round table meeting, including the different competing interests, involved in the issue. It sounds nice, although, this is something that the EDC has been talking about for over a year now, and apparently has failed to follow through with. The New York Post, also covered Friday’s meeting. The Post article cites various NYC Helicopter operators adressing the inherent danger associated with routine flights over densely populated areas. The operators interviewed also say that they generally try to avoid it, due to fear of noise complaints. The Post writes, “John Kjekstad, owner of Helicopter Tours of New York, said a fear of noise complaints made him can flights over Manhattan. ‘You’re just shooting yourself in the foot,’ he said. ‘The way to stay in business is to make sure nobody knows you’re around.’”Well put, Mr. Kjedstad. Unfortunately, some of your competitors have failed to read that memo.
At any rate, we commend Ms. Brewer for taking up this issue with the press. Thanks to all of those supporters of mitigating non-emergency helicopter noise, who were able to make it to the press conference on Friday.
Report from Jan. 2nd Press Conference
The information below was submitted today by Robert Hullot-Kentor:
DEAR NEIGHBORS. We are making progress against the helicopters! Gale Brewer, our District 6 representative to the City Council, convened a demonstration in front of the Heliport yesterday. Lots of people are upset about this. Please lend your voice now while we have the ear of City Hall. These helicopters are Tourist flights. Almost none of them are police or emergency vehicles. They damage our neighborhood’s peace and quiet, which is what we most value living here. Call Gale Brewer:
District Office Phone 212-873-0282 212-873-0282
JANUARY 3, 2009
Updated 01/02/2009 11:45 PM
Upper West Siders Complain About Chopper Noise
By: NY1 News
Some Upper West Side residents are complaining about the dozens of non-emergency helicopter flights over their neighborhood, saying they create too much noise.
They say the choppers, like those leaving from the 30th Street heliport on Manhattan’s West Side, frequently fly low over their homes and they want those that deviate from flight paths to be held accountable.
A group of protesters led by Manhattan Councilwoman Gale Brewer voiced their concerns Friday near the 30th Street heliport.
“I work in my apartment and every two minutes, in the middle of a sentence or a thought there is a helicopter that is breaking my concentration,” said one resident.
“The helicopters are over our building day and night, we counted three helicopters per minute yesterday,” said another. “It’s absolutely constant, it’s devastating, it really must be stopped.”
In response to the outcry, the city’s Economic Development Corporation is forming a helicopter tourism roundtable to discuss the issue.
Elected officials, helicopter companies and the Federal Aviation Administration are among those planning to attend.
The Hudson River Park Trust has already agreed to stop half of the trips by July 2009 and all of them by April 2010. But protesters want action to happen sooner.
“We wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration two years ago and several times last year and the only answer is that helicopters are supposed to fly over the river, but they don’t,” said Brewer.
The roundtable is expected to occur sometime this month, although no specific date was given. http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/91623/upper-west-siders-complain-about-chopper-noise/Default.aspx
Press Conference with City Council Rep.
For those who can attend, please let your voices be heard at the press conference below:
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
COUNCIL MEMBER GALE A. BREWER
CITY HALL
NEW YORK, NY 10007
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
BREWER AND WEST SIDE RESIDENTS DECRY HELICOPTER SIEGE OF MANHATTAN
Constant Tourism Flights Impair New Yorkers’ Quality of Life
Contact: Jesse Bodine
(212) 873-0282 w
(917) 280-6249 m
WHAT: Call for End to Continuous Non-Emergency Helicopter Flights Over Manhattan’s Residential Neighborhoods
WHO: Council Member Gale A. Brewer, West Side residents
DETAILS: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 11am, West Side Heliport located at West 30th Street and 12th Avenue, Manhattan
Residents in the streets of the West 70’s, West 80’s and even the West 90’s in Manhattan are reporting that non-emergency commercial helicopters have been flying over their homes every few minutes for the last three months. Calls and e-mails started coming to the office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer (D-Man) over the Christmas 2008 week, preceded by complaints throughout the fall of 2008.
The helicopters’ route seems to run north along the east bank of the Hudson River, turning east in the high 90s, then south above Columbus Avenue, with most turning on West 79 Street or 80 Street. Or the same route is followed counter-clockwise. This pattern persists each weekend, starting at about 9 AM and continues into nightfall.
Residents have reported, in a period of about 30 minutes, seeing 25 helicopters. These non-emergency helicopters make an extreme amount of noise, and their continuous hovering over resident buildings is unacceptable.
