NYC Council passes bill regulating noisy non-essential helicopter flights from city heliports
NYC city council approves restrictions on helicopter noise
The city council votes to limit non-essential helicopter flights from city-owned heliports, enforcing new noise standards for around 9% of current flights. FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay has the latest.
NEW YORK - A new bill passed by the New York City Council will ban non-essential helicopter flights from city-owned heliports unless they meet strict FAA noise standards. The regulation aims to reduce noise complaints and improve public safety following the recent Hudson River helicopter crash that killed six people.
What we know:
The bill prohibits all non-essential flights from city-owned heliports unless they comply with the most stringent noise standards established by the Federal Aviation Administration. Currently, only a small fraction of flights meet these standards.
The legislation also mandates that the city’s Economic Development Corporation improve the monitoring of flights that violate the noise requirements.
The bill will not go into effect until December 2029.
The backstory:
The bill comes in the wake of the deadly helicopter crash on April 10 that killed a family of three children and two adults visiting from Spain, along with the pilot.
FAA grounds helicopter company after Hudson crash
The FAA has grounded New York Helicopter Charter Inc. following last week’s deadly crash into the Hudson River that killed six people — including a family of five visiting from Spain.
The city’s 311 system received more than 59,000 noise complaints related to helicopters in 2023—more than double the number reported in 2022.
"The noise and emissions have real health impacts, from insomnia to high blood pressure to impaired cognitive function and long-term memory loss," said City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias. "And while the FAA governs airspace, the city has full authority over the use of its heliports."
What's next:
The Mayor's office say that they do support the bill and plan to sign it, but that they do not support the three resolutions the City Council also passed that call on state and federal leaders to ban non-essential helicopter flights over Manhattan.
Mayor Adams has said in the past that helicopter tourism flights are part of the city.
According to the City Council's own data, the two heliports in Manhattan generate around $78M dollars annual for the city.