Helicopters Over NYC Are 'Tormenting' Residents, New Group Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Dozens of officials from New York and New Jersey have banded together to ask the federal government to restrict helicopter flights over the city, signaling an escalation in the fight over noisy choppers that have disturbed residents for years.

"They are a nuisance and safety hazard to the five boroughs and to New Jersey, said Gale Brewer, the Manhattan borough president, in a news conference Thursday morning outside the 30th Street heliport.

"We're tired of this situation and we're not going to stand for it anymore."

Complaints about helicopter noise have soared during the pandemic, as New Yorkers say increasing numbers of sightseeing flights catering to tourists have disrupted tranquil spots like Central Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Many of those flights originate in New Jersey, helping them skirt New York City's 2016 law banning sightseeing helicopters from using its landing pads.

Brewer on Thursday announced that she had formed a new task force composed of nearly three dozen elected officials, including a majority of Manhattan's City Council members, the mayors of Hoboken, Union City and Weehawken, N.J., City Comptroller Scott Stringer, U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velázquez, and dozens of state lawmakers.

Together, the officials have penned a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, asking him to regulate the aircraft that are "hovering over our homes and public spaces, flying in between tall buildings and tormenting our residents with incessant noise."

They asked the federal agency to endorse a bill introduced in congress by four local lawmakers that would ban non-essential helicopter flights over "any city with a population of over 8 million" — a list that includes only New York.

As helicopter complaints soar to new heights, I’ve put together the first-ever dual-state, multi-city, multi-borough coalition to call for urgent federal action. pic.twitter.com/17mCreEVLD
— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) October 29, 2021

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brewer also pointed to 311 data showing that complaints about helicopter noise have surged to 20,188 so far in 2021 — already nearly double last year's total of 10,359. About 83 percent of this year's complaints have been made within Manhattan.

Others calling for action include Community Board 4 chair Lowel Kern, who also took aim at the 30th Street heliport: a long-derided takeoff spot nestled within Hudson River Park, where a helicopter crashed in 2019.

"There is no reason we should have a heliport in the middle of Hudson River Park," Kern said in a statement. "The West 30th Street heliport should be permanently closed."