Testimony of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander at the New York City Council Committee on Economic Development Hearing on Helicopter Noise and Safety
On behalf of the NYC Comptroller’s Office, thank you to the Committee on Economic Development and Chair Farias for convening this hearing and providing this opportunity to testify on heliport operations in New York City. Private helicopter trips taking off and landing at the City’s heliports pose established safety, quality-of-life, and climate-related costs on New Yorkers. A ban on nonessential, fossil fuel-based flights from the Downtown Manhattan and East 34th Street heliports would swiftly eliminate these concerns while preserving private helicopter industry’s economic benefits.
Nearly 30,000 tourist trips originate from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (DMH) at Pier 6, in addition to thousands of other non-essential flights. These trips generate noise pollution for communities living near the heliport or in the flights’ path while operating a non-essential service that costs thousands of dollars to access. The number of helicopter-related noise complaints to 311 has more than doubled recent years, jumping from 26,218 in 2022 to 59,127 in 2023. Residents have already made 7,793 complaints about helicopter noise to EDC as of April 10, 2024. This increase reflects the enduring disruptions borne by waterfront communities where trips and complaints are concentrated.
Private helicopters impose steep environmental costs on the City and emit as much carbon as forty times the amount of carbon as a single car in one hour. City heliports burn over 50,000 gallons of fuel each month, resulting in a relatively small number of non-essential tourist and commuter flights generating a disproportionate level of greenhouse gas emissions. Allowing these flights to continue operating out of city-owned infrastructure runs counter to local and state-level climate goals.
In 2023, the NYC Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals (RFP) to convert the DMH into a facility that can support electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts. Electric flights can cut down on noise pollution and carbon emissions generated by fossil fuel-powered helicopters. Multiple companies are developing this technology and seeking certification from the Federal Aviation Administration by 2025. Restricting use of City-owned heliports to electric flights would preserve the economic benefits of the industry while eliminating present-day quality of life consequences.
The Comptroller thanks the City Council for proposing legislation to restrict non-essential, fossil fuel-powered helicopter trips from utilizing City-owned heliports, monitor helicopter noise, and call upon the state and federal governments to take action on this issue. We would like to thank Council Member Farias, Council Member Restler, Council Member Gennaro, and Council Member Brewer for their leadership and express support for Int. 26, Int. 27, Int. 70, and the resolutions under consideration today.
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