Downtown elected officials and residents are fighting to ban tourist helicopter flights from taking off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.
Added regulations on the helicopter industry established last year have proven unsuccessful, according to the stakeholders, as Brooklyn residents continue to be disrupted by chopper noise and traffic — in part due to the elimination of tourist flights from the W. 30th Street Heliport in Manhattan.
“Chopper tours can’t come at the expense of our neighborhoods’ quality of life,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron. “I appreciate that, for a year, the [city Economic Development Corporation] and the helicopter industry have worked cooperatively to create regulations, but at this point, the surest way to offer the community relief is to end the tourist flights from D.M.H.”
“It is clear today,” U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler said, “that the industry’s voluntary routes and self-oversight are not working, and that much more needs to be done from both a safety and quality of life perspective.”
