East Hampton Airport Noise Curfews on Hold, Aviation Expert Says High-Speed Train May Be Long-Term Remedy

A high-speed rail service from Manhattan to the Hamptons?

That’s what aviation expert Clive Irving, writing for The Daily Beast, advocates for in an article published Sunday.

“Airplanes and helicopters are the most uneconomic and least efficient means of covering short to medium distances,” Irving writes. “To any modern railroad engineer practicing in Europe or Japan or China the route from Manhattan to eastern Long Island would appear ideal for a high-speed train.”

In the article entitled “High-Flying Jerks Ruining The Hamptons For Jitney-Bound Jerks,” Irving, who lives in Sag Harbor, chronicles the ongoing saga regarding aircraft noise at East Hampton Airport.

“At times on weekends there are so many helicopters heading into East Hampton that it almost resembles the “Death From Above” sequence in Apocalypse Now where the Wagner-blaring squadron comes in low over the beach to eviscerate the Vietnamese villagers,” Irving writes.

New flight restrictions at the airport meant to curb the noise had been set to go into effect on Tuesday, but the Town of East Hampton agreed to defer implementing the laws for three weeks during a court hearing Monday morning. Federal court judge Joanna Seybert requested the delay as the court considers a temporary restraining order on the new laws sought by the Friends of East Hampton Airport coalition.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said he agreed to the delay because he felt “it was necessary to respect the judicial process.”

Check out Irving’s entire piece in The Daily Beast here.