Stop the Helicopter Assault on Brooklyn

Reader Drew sent the below letter to Senator Squadron and City Councilmember Steve Levin who says that the recent reinstatement by Mayor Bloomberg of the ban on helicopter tours by Mayor Giuliani is ruining the atmosphere of the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge Park. We’ve noticed some of these choppers come very close to the bridge. Are they out of control? A copy of the letter after the jump.

On April 1st, 2010 Liberty Tours started operating all their Helicopter Tours from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (DMH). The impact was immediately apparent in Brooklyn. The skies above us turned into something out of a war film. You can often see 4-5 helicopters in the air, and another 5-6 idling on the pad. On a recent trip to the waterfront I observed helicopters descending and ascending at a rate of 1 every 45 seconds. Take a look at this video to see what I mean…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWvs__BEInU

Every chopper in the area affects the historic Brooklyn Promenade. The tourist choppers are the worst because they fly up and down the waterfront and leave on such a regular basis. Their incessant roar makes conversation on the Promenade unbearable. Things are even worse at the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge Park. The helicopters zoom right overhead like a scene out of Apocalypse Now. This community has worked for 20 years to get that park going and Mayor Bloomberg, with the help of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, ruined the whole atmosphere with the stroke of pen.

The narrowness of the river, between two densely packed landmasses, is an acoustic nightmare. The sound reverberates off the tall buildings in that tight corridor and can be heard throughout Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO. The roar from these choppers arrives long before you see them and stays long after they disappear. The orientation of the heliport means pilots approach low and idle low over Brooklyn. The only way they can take take off is to head straight at the promenade or the park. In short, the decision to move the flights here from Chelsea with misguided.

We’ve been told by Patricia Ornst at the EDC that the tax revenue is more important than our quality of life. I hope you value our well being more than that, and can find a solution. I urge you ask Mayor Bloomberg to reinstate Mayor Giuliani’s Ban on Chopper Tours. We all know that tourists will come and spend money in this city with or without helicopter tours. If that is off the table, then reduce the flights to a small window during the day. The bottom line is this, no flight path along that East River corridor is acceptable. As long as tourist tours land at DMH, there are going to be noise issues in Brooklyn Heights, in Dumbo, on The Promenade, and at the new park. The only solution to the noise problem is a reduction in the number of flights.

12 Comment

  • Agreed, the new Brooklyn Bridge Park is under assault from too many helicopters, it's like night and day.

  • Agreed, the new Brooklyn Bridge Park is under assault from too many helicopters, it's like night and day.

  • Funny thing last Friday I was visiting the park for the first time and as I was sitting on one of the benches it was impossible to block out the helicopters. It really is noisier than Shea stadium was with the Jets overhead. I told my friend that people in this neighborhood aren't going to put up with this noise. Good luck. I hope you can beat City Hall.

  • Funny thing last Friday I was visiting the park for the first time and as I was sitting on one of the benches it was impossible to block out the helicopters. It really is noisier than Shea stadium was with the Jets overhead. I told my friend that people in this neighborhood aren't going to put up with this noise. Good luck. I hope you can beat City Hall.

  • I'm in Brooklyn Heights. This is a residential neighborhood. It's not right that the sightseeing pleasures of a few should fray the nerves of several thousands. If revenue is a concern, we must remember that here there are hundreds more tour-taking, shop-shopping, and restaurant-visiting tourists on the ground than in the air.

    A friend who likes to visit from upstate once asked if I would go on a helicopter tour with him. I told him that helicopter noise, when it occurred, was just awful, that it had been an occasional problem for years, and I would be a hypocrite and a traitor to my fellow New Yorkers if I went with him, but that he could do as he liked. He didn't go.

    Now it's worse than ever. In fact, it's past midnight as I write, and I hear a helicopter hovering even now!

  • I'm in Brooklyn Heights. This is a residential neighborhood. It's not right that the sightseeing pleasures of a few should fray the nerves of several thousands. If revenue is a concern, we must remember that here there are hundreds more tour-taking, shop-shopping, and restaurant-visiting tourists on the ground than in the air.

    A friend who likes to visit from upstate once asked if I would go on a helicopter tour with him. I told him that helicopter noise, when it occurred, was just awful, that it had been an occasional problem for years, and I would be a hypocrite and a traitor to my fellow New Yorkers if I went with him, but that he could do as he liked. He didn't go.

    Now it's worse than ever. In fact, it's past midnight as I write, and I hear a helicopter hovering even now!

  • Pingback: ‘Apocalypse Now’ in Brooklyn Heights? - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

  • Pingback: ‘Apocalypse Now’ in Brooklyn Heights? - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

  • This is really terrible. The entire area, from the southern end of the promenade stretching to the Manhattan Bridge park, is under assault. With the windows either open or closed the sound level is unbearable. And, as you said, without any exaggeration, the buzzing is constant. I pray something can be done.

    If you film again, it might be a good idea to have a time stamp on the footage.

  • This is really terrible. The entire area, from the southern end of the promenade stretching to the Manhattan Bridge park, is under assault. With the windows either open or closed the sound level is unbearable. And, as you said, without any exaggeration, the buzzing is constant. I pray something can be done.

    If you film again, it might be a good idea to have a time stamp on the footage.

  • This is really terrible. The entire area, from the southern end of the promenade stretching to the Manhattan Bridge park, is under assault. With the windows either open or closed the sound level is unbearable. And, as you said, without any exaggeration, the buzzing is constant. I pray something can be done.

    If you film again, it might be a good idea to have a time stamp on the footage.

  • This is really terrible. The entire area, from the southern end of the promenade stretching to the Manhattan Bridge park, is under assault. With the windows either open or closed the sound level is unbearable. And, as you said, without any exaggeration, the buzzing is constant. I pray something can be done.

    If you film again, it might be a good idea to have a time stamp on the footage.