Residents argue the city and state must do more to regulate the hundreds of flights that criss-cross the area on a daily basis.

Despite complaints from New York City residents about the noise from helicopters above the city, efforts to put legal limits on helicopter travel have failed at multiple levels.
According to an article by Kevin Duggan in Streetsblog NYC, “Helicopter noise complaints have surged from an average 84 per month in 2016 to 2,073 a month this year, according to an analysis of 311 data.”
The area’s helicopter flights are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with different rules governing takeoffs from New York and New Jersey. “The city’s three heliports are all in Manhattan below 34th Street, and those facilities cap flights at a combined total of about 74,000 a year, or more than 200 every day.”
Research increasingly shows that noise pollution can have serious physical health effects, causing hearing loss and contributing to stress and heart disease. Critics such as Melissa Elstein, chair of the activist organization Stop the Chop NY/NJ, point out that some helicopters can also emit 43 times as much carbon dioxide per hour as a car.
Yet proposed state and federal legislation has failed to gain enough support, and industry advocates argue that their facilities bring an overall economic benefit. “City officials claimed it was not all about the money, and they were hesitant to further restrict tourism flights when pressed by Council politicians, fearing that would push more air traffic to take off from the other side of the Hudson.” This, they claim, would give New York even less power to regulate flight paths.
FULL STORY: Going in Circles: Laws to Tame Helicopters Struggle to Take Off

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.

Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.

Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
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