Residents of some waterfront neighborhoods are buzzing mad about the relocation of all tourist helicopter flights in the city to a single location on Manhattan's southern tip.
They say all those whirlybirds are just too noisy. According to the city’s Economic Develop Corporation, there has been a 10 percent increase in flights at the Downtown Manhattan heliport over the past year.
Then there’s the recent letter sent to Mayor Bloomberg signed by a number of elected officials raising safety concerns about the increased traffic at the downtown heliport especially in light of last year’s helicopter collision over the Hudson.
And citizens are are circulating a petition called
That was a victory for an advocacy group that sued to remove the heliport from its spot next to a public park.
But state Sen. Daniel Squadron now says he is getting dozens of e-mail complaints from residents in Manhattan and Brooklyn about the constant and increased noise downtown.
He wants the mayor to curb chopper traffic there, too.
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Meantime, a spokesperson for the EDC told me the city is working to develop a “New York Air Tour Management Plan to address the concerns.”
He said the plan will likely further limit the hours of operation of air tours and we should learn more in the coming weeks.
