Summer Helicopter Traffic Prompts Complaints On Noise From Low Flying Choppers

Eastern Suffolk county on Long Island is considered by many to be a quiet summer haven for many living around New York City, but with summer residents comes the noise of the helicopters shuttling them back and forth to the city.

According to an article in the Suffolk Times, Local, state and federal officials report they've been getting an earful from constituents in the region about helicopter noise despite an agreement brokered during the winter by U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with the Eastern Region Helicopter Council and local airports. The agreement was aimed at alleviating the helicopter traffic noise problem on the ground in eastern Suffolk.

According to a Tuesday press release from the offices of Mr. Schumer, approximately 1,500 complaints were filed at East Hampton Airport from Memorial Day through the second week of June, with as many as 300 to 400 of those complaints issued from unique addresses.

Schumer said the summer was "off to a rocky start" with most of the complaints coming from North Shore. Only half of the helicopter flights into East Hampton airport are complying with the minimum altitude requirements agreed to by the helicopter council. Officials say most of the helicopter traffic over the North Fork is headed to or from the East Hampton Airport.

According to Southold Supervisor Scott Russell, the North Fork helicopters association has been gathering data using altitude-monitoring equipment. Helicopters over the North Fork inbound to East Hampton Airport are regularly flying over land at altitudes of 900 to 1,100 feet, he said.

Russell  is seeking FAA regulation of helicopters in the area and even threatened legal action by the town. "We have to consider all our options," he said in an interview Tuesday.

Failing voluntary compliance with flight path and minimum altitude guidelines agreed to by the helicopter council, Mr. Schumer pledges to introduce legislation requiring the FAA to impose mandatory routes, altitude floors, and stiff fines for any helicopter that violates the rules.

Rep. Tim Bishop is "thoroughly discouraged" by pilots' lack of compliance with the voluntary agreement with the helicopter council and sees the need for FAA regulation as almost inevitable at this point.

Bishop said the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill charges the FAA with the task of studying helicopter traffic all over Long Island and suggest noise mitigation strategies. "You can't get FAA regulation without first doing this study," he said.

Proposed state legislation requiring the state department of transportation to conduct a similar helicopter traffic study passed in the state assembly, but stalled in the state senate as the move lacked a sponsor. The bill was seen as pointless as the state has no authority over air traffic, which is controlled at a federal level.

"There really is no state role," said NY State Sen. Ken LaValle, whose district encompasses both the North and South forks, explaining why he would not sponsor the bill. "It only leads people to believe that we can do something when we can't."

On the federal side, both Schumer and Bishop have scheduled meetings over the coming weeks with representatives of the helicopter council as a last hope to bolster the voluntary compliance effort before moving forward with the push for FAA regulation.

FMI: www.flyneighborly.net, http://schumer.senate.gov