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New federal regulations establishing over-the-water routes along Long Island’s north and south shores in an attempt to reduce helicopter noise have generated mixed reaction from East End residents and policy makers.
United States Senator Charles Schumer announced last Wednesday that regulations are in the process of being finalized by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that will mandate an over-the-water North Shore helicopter route. Also, for the first time, the Federal Aviation Administration will begin the process of establishing mandatory off-shore water routes for the South Shore, according to a press release.
Mr. LaHood’s commitment to implement the dual off-shore routes should serve as a “wake-up call” to the helicopter industry, Mr. Schumer said.
“Long Island will not continue to be the Wild West for low flying, disruptive and noisy helicopters.”
The flight path changes come after years of efforts by East End leaders who teamed up to tackle the problem by taking a regional approach. Members of the Multi-Town Helicopter Noise Advisory Committee, comprised of East End elected officials and others, maintain that a single northern helicopter route would place an unfair burden on a few communities and have asked for a southern route as well. The new routes would most directly affect East Hampton Airport.
“I have been a major proponent of having not just a northern but a southern route,” said East Hampton Town Councilman Dominick Stanzione, who has served as the point person for airport issues in the town. “Having both is an excellent outcome. We look forward to the finalization of those routes by the FAA.”
U.S. Representative Tim Bishop also applauded Mr. Schumer’s work on the issue. “I will continue to work with Senator Schumer to make sure the regulations that result from the process announced today provide relief to property owners and route helicopter traffic in a way acceptable to all stakeholders,” he said in a statement.
While some elected officials lauded the senator’s efforts, others said the measure wouldn’t actually do much to silence helicopter noise. Frank Dalene, the vice chairman of the East Hampton advocacy group, the Quiet Skies Coalition, and a neighbor to the airport, said the new routes will only spread the burden around the region more fairly, adding that helicopter noise can be reduced only by technological improvements.
“So now you’re going to have this summer, you’re going to have a new group of people complaining,” he said. “And now those are going to be the folks south of the highway. Now I say good, because it’s the folks south of the highway that use these helicopters, that own these helicopters.”
The Quiet Skies Coalition has been at the center of the noise pollution debate at East Hampton Airport. Most recently, the group unsuccessfully lobbied the town to stop accepting FAA funds for capital improvements at the airport, saying the grants come with contractual obligations that prevent the town from regulating aircraft traffic and noise. The Town Board voted to accept the grants in December.
Kathy Cunningham, the new chairwoman of the group, issued a statement this week blasting the new routes, claiming that they would increase the number of flights over northwest East Hampton.
“Such re-concentrations of traffic will only increase the misery of helicopter noise impacts north and south in East Hampton,” she said. “The Quiet Skies Coalition finds that the only solution is for the town to exercise its proprietary rights to restrict jet, helicopter and seaplane landings and take-offs in a reasonable and comprehensive planning program.”
Ms. Cunningham also aired her concerns to the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday.
“This is a great deal for western Suffolk and Nassau, because those vehicles are going to be out on the ocean and over the Long Island Sound,” she said. “But it’s not a good deal for us.”
Mr. Stanzione countered that the new routes are actually “good news for Long Island and East Hampton,” when combined with an air traffic control tower the town is looking to install at the airport.
“We combine the two actions—FAA approval of the control tower together with the mandated routes from the south and the north—[and] we believe that we will have effective local control over air transportation, at least during peak season,” Mr. Stanzione said.
