Hoboken To Sue FAA Over Helicopter Noise, Low Flights

HOBOKEN, NJ — After years of residents of Hoboken and Jersey City complaining about noisy and low-flying helicopters, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has said the city will sue the Federal Aviation Administration.

The city plans to sue the agency "for its continued failure to exercise oversight and protect the residents of Hoboken from the public harms associated with low-flying, non-essential commercial helicopters," a city spokesperson said Tuesday.

The matter will be on the agenda for the City Council to approve at its meeting Wednesday.

“Enough is enough. Our residents should not have to bear the constant noise, air pollution, and safety risks of unnecessary helicopter tourism,” said Mayor Bhalla. “These are not essential flights. They’re luxuries that come at too high a cost to the health, safety, and peace of our communities."

While residents of Hudson County have complained about noisy and low-flying tourist 'copters for years, concerns ramped up after an accident killed a family of five and a pilot in April. READ MORE: Helicopter Crash Leads Hudson County Officials To Blast Helicopter Tourism Industry

In that case, a tourist helicopter that took off from Manhattan crashed in the Hudson River just off Jersey City.

Hoboken's Suit

The FAA will be sued, according to the city, for its "failure to perform oversight responsibilities, particularly in enforcing altitude restrictions over urban residential areas, in which helicopters are required to fly no lower than 1,000 feet over the highest structure, a regulation routinely broken, as witnessed by residents across Hoboken."

Helicopters also emit hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide per hour, contributing to climate change and polluting densely populated areas, the city said in a release.

“Hoboken has called on the FAA to take immediate action to protect its residents and eliminate nonessential helicopter traffic over our community. But the FAA is MIA,” said Hoboken Council Vice President Phil Cohen, who has raised the helicopter issue since last year. Cohen introduced an emergency resolution adopted unanimously by the Hoboken City Council on April 16, calling on the FAA to end all non-essential helicopter traffic over the region.

The resolution on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting would hire legal counsel for the suit.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 94 Washington St. It can also be viewed on the city's YouTube or Facebook page.

Other Officials' Responses

Rep. Rob Menendez, who represents Jersey City and Hoboken, has proposed legislation to ban helicopters from flying within a 20-mile radius of the Satue of Liberty.

County Executive Craig Guy said that on May 29, he and Kearny Mayor Carol Jean Doyle met with Jeff Hyman, the CEO of HHI Heliport in
Kearny, to express concerns about increased helicopter activity in parts of Hudson County.

“We had a productive meeting with CEO Jeff Hyman of HHI Heliport regarding grave concerns we and county residents have about increased
low altitude helicopter activity," Guy said in a release. "We agreed that there are items we could work to immediately address, while there are some issues that remain under the control of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We are constantly hearing from people throughout the county, especially residents of Jersey City and Hoboken, whose lives are being
disrupted by constant helicopter flights. Furthermore, Kearny has deep concerns about the facility’s hours of operation, which exceed what was originally represented."

READ MORE: Menendez Law Would Ban Tourist Helicopters Near 1 NJ Landmark