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We were sent a few pictures of the rally held yesterday in which locals and elected officials asked for restrictions on helicopter tourist flights from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. A no-fly zone was instituted over Brooklyn Heights in 2010, and the trips were recently rerouted, allowing flights over the Buttermilk Channel. But the rally called for an all-out chopper ban. A press release from Senator Squadron quotes him as saying: It’s time to stop the never-ending parade of tourist flights from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. Chopper tours can’t come at the expense of our neighborhoods’ quality of life. I appreciate that for a year EDC and the helicopter industry have worked cooperatively to create regulations, but at this point the surest way to offer the community relief is to end the tourist flights from DMH.” No one repping the helicopter business attended the rally, according to the Brooklyn Paper, but the chairman of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council told them banning the flights would “cripple a significant component of the city’s tourism industry.” You can see a video of the rally over at Brooklyn Heights Blog.
Locals Call for Total Ban on Tourist Helos Over Brooklyn Heights [BHB]
Pols: Ban All Tourist Helicopters [Brooklyn Paper]


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  1. LC, there were considerably fewer helicopters at DMH when the parks was being planned and designed. Much of the current traffic there used to be at other heliports that have since been closed or had their operational model changed.

  2. LC, there were considerably fewer helicopters at DMH when the parks was being planned and designed. Much of the current traffic there used to be at other heliports that have since been closed or had their operational model changed.

  3. Hmmmmm, you know, I’m going to have to take sides with the sunbathers and park users on this one, rather than the helicopter pilot who makes a living off tourists, but annoys people who probably actually live here.

  4. Weren’t the helicopters there before the parks in Govenor’s Island, BBP, & DUMBO? Why didn’t someone from the city think of this BEFORE spending money on these projects? Seems like the time to resolve this problem was during the design phases. If they left the pad in place and operational, its pretty underhanded to come out now and tell the owners/operators they have to shut down or move their business because it disturbs the sunbathers/park users.

  5. Helicopter rides = “a significant component of the City’s tourism industry”? Please. The helicopters are an obnoxious nuisance and should be banned.