The noise caused by tourist helicopters is apparently so ear-splittingly incessant, the New York Times has deigned to run an op-ed decrying them as a "plague" attacking NYC's waterfront. Hoping to ground the whirlybirds and protect New York City's recent $2 billion investment in "spectacular new waterfront parks," the piece calls for a banning of helicopters that exceed federal noise levels from using heliports in the city.
A ban "would instantly improve the city’s air quality, and make our parks and neighborhoods once again oases of (relative) quiet," the op-ed argues. And it appears the heli-haters are (mostly) getting their way. A new law will cut the city's tourist helicopter traffic in half, limiting the flights that leave Manhattan's Pier 6 heliport to 28,000 a year, beginning in 2017. The decision by the Economic Development Corp will also end all Sunday flights (with special Predator exemptions). What's more, flight schedules for the remainder of 2016 will be scaled back by 20 percent.
“The non-stop din of helicopters has been a major quality of life issue for New Yorkers living near heavily trafficked routes,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “Today we’re addressing it.”
From air pollution to the possible threat of terrorism, the Times' anti-chopper-coppers reassert the presumed need for such a ban and build a decent case. After all, this is New York City, not a military base, right??
[T]hese days the pleasure of a sunny bench and a river view is being obliterated by a fleet of helicopters flying up and down the Hudson. Just as the noise from one chopper fades away, a new one approaches, and it feels as if we’re trapped in a landing zone on a military base.
Then again, perhaps the helicopter haters are overthinking it. Sometimes all you have to do is tweet at them, and they'll fly away!
