West 30th Street Heliport Imperiled by Construction

Vertical Aviation International is worried that an NYC helicopter port is in danger of permanent closure courtesy of a recently introduced piece of legislation, and they want to stir up support to keep it alive.

The legislation, A.10224/S.9408 by Simone & Hoylman, would permanently close the West 30th Street Heliport (KJRA) within New York City's Hudson River Park. The advocacy group has already had it on their radar for some time, noting the difficulty in bringing heliports back online once they're closed for pretty much any reason at all, even "temporarily".

In their call to action, the group said it "strongly believes this legislative attempt to shutter the heliport is the most serious threat to this facility in over 20 years. 

Closure of the only 24/7 heliport with refueling capabilities in the region would lead to dramatic economic losses for the city and state, including fewer jobs; increased congestion on local roads; negative impacts on health care transportation; and threats to the coming introduction of new technologically advanced and greener vertical aviation aircraft."

In order to push back on the legislation, the VAI published a quick letter template and pathway to amplify voices in support of aviation. Submissions issued through their chain will be collected by the VAI government affairs team, and will be forwarded to the entire New York state legislature as part of their larger campaign to preserve a "critical piece of vertical aviation infrastructure in New York City."

FMI: www.rotor.org