Helicopter Noise Complaints Surge in New York

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.