As deal pushes helicopters away from Statue of Liberty, will noise disrupt NJ suburbs?

As the latest U.S. Supreme Court battle between New York and New Jersey comes to an end and as the Rangers and Devils face off in the first round of the NHL playoffs, there is one issue folks on both sides of the Hudson River are aligned on: helicopters.

Eight U.S. senators and members of Congress from both states have sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to air grievances about new agreements regarding helicopter movements.

The agreements with private tour and charter helicopter companies were struck to limit how close helicopters could fly to Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Governors Island, non-residential tourist sites. But as a result, the helicopter traffic — and accompanying noise pollution and disruption — will likely be pushed toward residential areas of the two states.

“Much of Liberty State Park, Lower Manhattan, and the areas of Brooklyn adjacent to Governors Island were left unprotected,” the letter said. “In fact, the buffer zones around the National Monuments stand to push flight traffic closer to Liberty State Park and New Jersey’s waterfront area.”

Helicopters bothering Clifton residents

Loud, low-flying and increasingly frequent private helicopters have become a sore subject for people in New Jersey and New York. Residents of Clifton, for instance, have complained to the office of U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. for a year about choppers flying so low it shakes their homes. A nonprofit called “Stop the Chop” was formed to raise awareness about the issue for residents who deal with tourist and charter flights around New York City.

U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., whose district includes the area around Liberty State Park, decided to take up the cause in his freshman year on Capitol Hill.

“The answers we were provided and results we’ve gotten so far are not satisfactory," Menendez said. "It’s incumbent upon them to take into consideration the issues that we’ve raised.”

After the letter was delivered last month, Menendez said he, U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman of New York and others had a briefing with the FAA and National Park Service. “They heard us and we’re hopeful to have subsequent conversations and get to a much better place” on this issue, Menendez said.

Pascrell submits testimony on the noise

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which includes Menendez, this week held its “Member Day,” in which House members can make requests to committees they’re not on regarding issues affecting their districts during budget season.

Pascrell submitted testimony to the committee requesting that it include language in the FAA reauthorization act, which expires Sept. 30, 2023, that would:

• Recommend that the U.S. Government Accountability Office improve FAA officials’ ability to identify helicopter operators, which are often opaque because of LLC ownership structures.
• Require the FAA, through recommendations from the GAO, to improve how the agency shares information regarding noise complaints, and create a tool so the FAA can share complaints with operators, and vice versa.

“I am seeking relief for those northern New Jersey constituents who are having their lives disrupted by pervasive noise that is reportedly coming from helicopters flying close to our neighborhoods at various hours of the day and night,” Pascrell told the committee.

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

Helicopter issue a priority

Menendez said the helicopter issue is a priority of the committee as it considers the FAA reauthorization. U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., also used the reauthorization process to address constituent complaints about military helicopters flying over his district in northern Virginia. That ultimately led to a GAO study, and the FAA piloted a program last year that created a way to collect and share helicopter noise complaints, which wasn’t being done before.

Menendez also introduced a bill that would require the FAA and National Park Service to take into consideration the broader effects of voluntary agreements like the ones recently reached for helicopters flying near the national monuments in New York City.

“We’re trying to approach it from every angle that we can,” Menendez said. “Until we get the outcomes our constituents deserve, we’re going to be relentless in this pursuit.”