Southold Talks Legal Action After FAA's 'Ham-Fisted' Helicopter Route Extension

SOUTHOLD, NY — After the Federal Aviation Administration ruled Monday to extend the north shore helicopter route for four years, Southold Town has come out swinging.

The news devastated residents who've been crying out for years about helicopter noise they say is ruining their quality of life on the North Fork.

The blind-sided Southold Town board issued a statement at Tuesday's work session: "This action was taken without consulting the Town of Southold and with full knowledge that the town board was to meet today to determine what position to formally express to the FAA regarding the expiration of the NSR scheduled for August 6."

The board called the FAA's move a "ham-fisted, precipitate" action that "deprived Southold of its due process right to be heard before the FAA decided to extend the time duration of the route without any modification."

Attorney James Harmon, who sits on the town's helicopter noise steering committee, suggested the town board recess into executive discussion before the statement was read.

The statement said that the FAA's decision violated presidential executive order 13132, which required the FAA to consult with Southold officials before the extension was announced.

The move by the FAA also "deprived the citizens of Southold of their individual right to petition the government guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States," the statement read.

Harmon said he'd consulted with the FAA's contact person on July 13, telling them that the town board would be meeting Tuesday before taking a formal position with respect to the NSR extension.

Harmon said he expressed "hope that the FAA would take the opportunity to consider Southold's views before making any decision on extension and adopting a final rule."

The FAA, Harmon noted, has said that there was no reason to retain the rule if a determination was made that the northerly route did not, in fact, improve the noise situation. Given the chance, he said, the town would have provided the FAA with "substantial evidence" that the northern route had not reduced helicopter noise and would have requested the FAA to terminate the NSR, not extend it.

"Counsel has been directed to explore legal avenues which may be open to Southold," the statement read.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell asked if it would be fair to say that the FAA violated federal law.

"Southold had the due process right to be heard by both by federal statute and by presidential executive order," Harmon said.

Russell responded: "It would appear, at this point, that the only public input they received was from the Eastern Region Helicopter Council and one U.S. senator who is trying to appease populations up west."

Ghosio said he was "shocked" Saturday to return from a meeting with Rep. Lee Zeldin convened by the Southold Voice organization at the town's rec center on Peconic Lane, where he advocated for a southerly route, only to find that the FAA's decision had already been rendered.

"You can't be on the phone having a conversation without something flying overhead. You can't even speak, it's so loud," Ghosio said. "Extending the NSR for four years without comment is beyond comprehension to me." Especially, he said, because the FAA used the rationale that they didn't want to disrupt pilots mid-season.

"That doesn't equate to four years. It equates to four months," Ghosio said.

The supervisor said he would reach out to Zeldin, as well as other East End supervisors and mayors, to coordinate efforts and address the situation.

After the announement, Ghosio said he felt it was "bizarre" to learn on Saturday that not even the congressman had been informed of the FAA's decision.

Adam Irving of the town's helicopter noise steering committee said the decision was "unfortunate, but not entirely surprising." He said he suspected there had been "behind the scenes lobbying" with the FAA by some elected officials who supported other communities further west in Nassau County, where there exists "a huge swath of voters," and said, "As a result, we have the northerly route extension, seemingly for research purposes."

Irving also said, to the argument of those who say the helicopters or sea planes are flying over water, "What I argue is that water is not going to just soak up that noise. Anyone who's spent time on boats, on the water, knows that water is an excellent conductor of noise. People living on the Sound or the Atlantic don't want to be hearing 100 helicopters, even if they're a mile offshore. Routes won't fix this. The only thing that will fix the noise issue is to mitigate the number of flights coming in and out."

Russell added, "We have an FAA that isn't listening. Further, towns gave the right to be told of FAA action and have a right to be heard. Neither happened in this case."

The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.