Press Releases
Manhattan/Brooklyn Pols Reiterate Urgency for City to End Tourist Flights from Downtown Heliport
New York, NY,
June 2, 2011
Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and Councilmembers Brad Lander, Steve Levin, Sara Gonzalez, Margaret Chin, and Gale Brewer reasserted the necessity for a complete ban on all tourist helicopter flights at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. In a joint letter to Seth Pinsky, President of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, the elected officials reiterated the serious and detrimental effects the helicopters pose to the quality of life for Manhattan and Brooklyn residents, businesses, and visitors.
Text of their letter follows, and is attached as a pdf: June 2, 2011
Seth Pinsky Dear Mr. Pinsky: We write to request that that the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) institute a total ban on all tourist helicopter flights at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (DMH). This request follows over a decade of effort by elected officials and community members to regulate the small on-demand aircraft/helicopter industry, which has virtually no oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or other governmental authority. We appreciate the cooperation of the industry and EDC efforts to provide relief from tourist flights into and out of DMH – including eliminating short tours, establishing a 311 protocol, and creating a pilot penalty system. Unfortunately, these attempts at self-regulation have not yielded sufficient improvement to our constituents’ quality of life, nor have they addressed the clear safety hazards that are evident in New York’s heavily congested airspace. As the weather grows warmer, New Yorkers in Manhattan and Brooklyn are being bombarded once again with the constant drone of tourist helicopters overhead. Residents of these neighborhoods did not sign up for the non-stop noise pollution which destroys their quality of life. Additionally, parks such as Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Hudson River Park, which offer beautiful vistas and public spaces, were meant to be places for recreation and relaxation, not helicopter flight paths.
The tourist helicopters also contribute heavily to the dangerously congested air space, which creates the real potential for human tragedy and disasters like the terrible air crash over the Hudson River in August 2009. When this risk is coupled with the nuisance created by the helicopters, it is clear that something must be done to limit the number, frequency, and uses of helicopter flights.
As the owner of the downtown heliport, it is within the City’s power to restrict flights and control takeoffs and landings from DMH. To improve safety and quality of life for residents in Manhattan and Brooklyn, we must reduce flights overall by banning tourist helicopters from DMH.
Banning tourist helicopters will not drive visitors away from New York City. Visitors to New York City come to experience our world class parks, theater, landmark attractions like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, museums, and restaurants. Tourists will continue to come to our city and take advantage of our many attractions even in the absence of tourist helicopter flights.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you to bring relief to residents of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Jerrold Nadler ### |