Supe Irate Over Helicopter Noise, New 'Airbnbs Of The Sky'

SOUTHOLD, NY — The battle against helicopter noise continues to heat up in Southold Town.

At Tuesday's Southold Town board work session, attorney James Harmon of the helicopter noise steering committee was onhand to give an update, explaining that over the past several months, there have been meetings with representatives of East Hampton Town, discussing whether there wasn't a way to work with the Eastern Region Helicopter Council to change helicopter routes that "are causing major problems for Southold."

For years, residents and elected officials alike have cried out against helicopter noise that shatters the East End's bucolic quality of life and, some believe, pose potential safety concerns.

Harmon said he was asked by the council to draft a potential agreement, "which would have said, by agreement, that the Eastern Region Helicopter Council would direct pilots to or from East Hampton with an all-water route around Plum Island, with no transition from the North Shore Route over the Town of Southold."

However, Harmon said, the council "refused to enter into any such agreement. Instead, on their own, they unilaterally decided this year not to have specific routes designated but will instruct pilots to fly as they choose to disperse noise caused by helicopters," Harmon said. Those routes will include the ocean route over the Atlantic Ocean, a mid-island route and the North Shore Route, he said.

"I emphasize, this is something the Eastern Region Helicopter decided on its own," Harmon said.

A request for comment via the Eastern Region Helicopter Council was not immediately returned.

Harmon said he would like to report back with actual tracking of helicopter flights over the area during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

The challenge, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said, is that by scattering the flights into three areas, it might reduce volume over the North Fork, but any benefit to that "will be offset by the growth of helicopter traffic to begin with."

Russell said if the Federal Aviation Administration had "done their job, this could have been presented as a solution, but they refuse to have public hearings."

Public officials have blasted the FAA for its refusal to schedule public hearings on the issue last year as required, instead, holding public information sessions that Russell called "dog and pony shows. When you come to a meeting and the room is filled with poster boards, you know no one is listening. And this is the problem."

In addition, Russell said, two of the public information session scheduled were held in western Nassau County, nowhere near the North Fork. "They avoided towns where the impacts were bad."

News of a new, luxury helicopter shuttle to the Hamptons sparked outrage among some town officials, including Russell, recently.

On Tuesday, he called the new service an "expansion of ride share. The airbnbs of the sky," he said.

He commended Rep. Lee Zeldin for his tenacity in seeing that the FAA follow federal law.

Councilman Bob Ghosio, liaison to the helicopter noise steering committee, said despite the price tag, the new helicopter shuttle indicated a growing industry. He added that an article in a New York City publication reflected that even Manhattan residents were beginning to understand the concerns raised on the East End.

Harmon said the Eastern Region Helicopter Council had committed to a 50/50 situation, "so if a helicopter flies out one way, they fly back another way. Whether any of this happens remains to be seen," he said.

With Memorial Day approaching, Harmon added, "We'll keep our fingers crossed — and look to the skies."

(Lisa Finn)

Meanwhile, as the busy summer season is set to take off on the East End, Zeldin has sounded a new battle cry over helicopter noise, sending a letter to the FAA demanding action.

Zeldin sent the letter to the FAA's Acting Regional Administrator Maria Stanco "regarding her failure to comply with his legislation that was signed into law, requiring a public hearing in the impacted area, and to implement an all water route ahead of peak season," he said.

The letter said it has been more than six months since the FAA's Reauthorization Act of 2018 was signed by President Donald Trump.

"It is urgent that the FAA take immediate action to address aircraft noise on the North Fork of Long Island as another noisy high season approaches. On behalf of a community surrounded by water, it should not be complicated for your agency to take swift action to implement true all water routes to take traffic away from populated areas impacted by noise," Zeldin said. "Public 'workshops' held by the FAA on Long Island in November were also woefully inadequate and did not comply with section 182 of the aforementioned law, which called for public hearings in impacted communities," he wrote.

The FAA, Zeldin said, must comply with the requirement to hold "real public hearings" in the communities impacted by the North Shore Route."The 'workshops' held on Long Island last year did not meet the clear mandates of the law and insulted my constituents," Zeldin said. "The use of the questionable, insufficient format not only silenced the voices of the public, but was perceived as a clear attempt by the FAA to diminish the serious impact of the NSR and the negative quality of life impacts that resulted to the North Fork. In order to comply with the law and to truly be held accountable, the FAA must hold real public hearings on the North Fork immediately. "

In addition, Zeldin said, "as also required by law, the FAA must work on the implementation of an all water route over the Atlantic Ocean to alleviate the unfair, unsafe, and unhealthy impact of the needlessly flawed North Shore Helicopter Route on impacted communities in my district."
An announcement earlier in May that the FAA had extended the use of alternative noise relief routes that shift traffic away from impacted neighborhoods in northeast Queens "is great news for suffering residents in those areas but a slap in the face to the North Fork of Long Island which has sought similar relief for years," he said. "Actions by your agency to provide relief to select communities impacted by the deeply flawed North Shore Route while ignoring the pleas of others is unfair and inequitable."

The residents of the North Fork, Zeldin said, do not live near any helipads or airports and receive only the negative impact of noise and none of the economic benefits associated with the air traffic that greatly increases over their homes during the summer high season, the congressman added.

"If the FAA is willing and able to provide noise relief to New York City communities suffering from the NSR through regulatory action, it must swiftly and immediately take the same action for North Fork residents," he said.

The ultimate solution is the implementation of a real all water route over the Atlantic for aircraft bound for the East End of Long Island, Zeldin said.

"Delays and excuses from the FAA are not acceptable. Your agency was able to create the unfair and problematic North Shore Helicopter Route in 2012 and used questionable 'emergency authority' to extend it without any notice or consultation in the summer of 2016 yet has still failed to deliver on a real Atlantic Ocean Route. Surely the same regulatory power used to create and perpetuate a flawed and unfair mandatory aircraft route can also be used to institute a real solution for residents in my district that are now bracing for another high season that will be ruined by aircraft noise and FAA inaction. The FAA must act swiftly to meet the requirements of the law and take action on an all water route over the Atlantic Ocean," Zeldin s

Jim Peters, media representative for the FAA, responded to a request for comment by Patch by saying, "We will review the letter, which we received on Tuesday, and then respond to U.S. Representative Zeldin directly."

Recently, too, plans for the new, luxury helicopter shuttle to the Hamptons had many on the East End — who have been crying out for an end to helicopter noise for years — seeing red.

According to a Wheels Up release, passengers can embark at 34th St. in Manhattan, landing 40 minutes later at East Hampton Airport on a 6 to 8 passenger dual-engine "safety vetted and verified helicopter."

Wheels Up, a membership-based private aviation company co-founded by CEO Kenny Dichter, in partnership with Heliflite, announced this week that it is about to kick its first-ever Hamptons summer helicopter shuttle, running mid-June through August.

Flights will take off every Friday at 3 p.m. at a cost of $995 per seat, per leg, and can be booked by phone or on the Wheels Up App, available through the Apple App Store or Google Play, the release said.

Wheels Up said it acts as agent for Wheels Up members and is not the operator of the program aircraft; FAA licensed, and DOT registered air carriers participating in the program exercise full operational control of all flights offered by or arranged through Wheels Up.

Created and led by Dichter, Wheels Up provides core members and business members with guaranteed access up to 365 days a year to a members-only fleet of King Air 350i, Citation Excel/XLS and Citation X aircraft, the release said.

After the release was circulated, East End elected officials and residents who have been working tirelessly for years to curb helicopter noise on the East End reacted with dismay.

"This is terrible, terrible, dreadful news. The only question is whether they will fly the northern route or the southerly route over the ocean. It is clear that, at an estimated flight time of 40 minutes, they do not contemplate the prospect of flying around Plum Island. I know that East Hampton knows that the growth of these types of services erode not only the quality of life for our residents but, the quality of life of its own. It is time to detonate the A-bomb — figuratively as it had been referred to by some East Hampton residents — and close that damn airport down," Russell said.

Ghosio also spoke out: "What's left to say? Another Memorial Day approaches and no relief from the Federal Aviation Administration concerning the noise. At $2,000 a seat, round trip, we can only hope there aren't many users. But I doubt it. The FAA still hasn't had the hearings that the President signed into law and that's disheartening. So like the springtime rituals of nature around us, so continues the annual springtime fight against the flock of helicopters about to descend on the east end. The end of our wintertime peace."

Teresa McCaskie, chair of the Southold Town helicopter steering committee, said safety concerns were an issue; she asked what "safety vetted" entailed.

A request for comment to Wheels Up on both the meaning of the words "safety vetted," and whether or not the helicopters would be taking the southerly route over the Atlantic Ocean or the northerly route, was not immediately returned.

"With this newly joined partnership, it's imperative for the public to be aware that only an estimated 80% of all helicopters flying currently in the United States are not equipped with crash restaurant fuel systems on their aircraft," McCaskie said. "Clearly that 'safest' route is out over the Atlantic Ocean where passengers will get sweeping views of Dune Road. The airport is located under three miles off the Atlantic. The North Shore helicopter route, which permits pilots to 'transition' over hundreds of residents homes, schools, the Orient causeway and the Northville oil storage tanks, need to stop immediately. Residents' safety on land must take priority immediately," McCaskie said.

In November, braving bitter winds and cold, a crowd of elected officials and residents turned out at Iron Pier Beach in Jamesport to send a loud and clear message to the FAA: They wanted a public hearing on helicopter noise as required by law — a hearing that never took place.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith, who convened the event, kicked off the gathering by blasting a recent forum held by the FAA in Riverhead, which, she said, was a "farce. . .a children's show and tell."
Jens-Smith spoke out against the helicopter noise that disrupts residents' quality life and also poses danger, as helicopters and sea planes fly over fuel storage tanks at Northville.

"For too long residents have had their quality of life damaged by the constant helicopter fly overs. These helicopters travel the same routes when navigating over our town resulting in the aircraft passing over people's homes every five minutes. We need a mandated all water route to bring relief to our residents," Jens-Smith said.

The FAA, she added, has been "derelict in its duties" to residents and elected officials are demanding a public hearing be held.

But when asked for a response to the press conference, an FAA spokesman said a public forum was held at Vaughn College in East Elmhurst, Queens, for people who couldn't attend an earlier Nov. 15 meeting due to bad weather.

Despite a vocal outcry from elected officials and residents alike over"workshops" held by the FAA on helicopter noise and assessment of the North Shore Helicopter Route, instead of public hearings lawmakers said were required by law — so far, the FAA has never held public hearings.

When asked for comment last year, the FAA said: "We are reviewing the request."

The hearings were meant to follow a victory earlier in October after Trump signed into law a proposal by Zeldin that requires the FAA to reassess the North Shore Route and pursue an all-water route over the Atlantic Ocean.