REMARKS
Council Member Amanda Farías opens Committee on Economic Development hearing on helicopter noise and safety
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5 min
Council Member Amanda Farías opens a hearing of the Committee on Economic Development to discuss helicopter noise and safety in New York City.
- Farías cites a 2,329% increase in helicopter noise complaints in District 1 over the past 5 years
- She highlights health impacts like high blood pressure, cognitive impairment, and diminished reading comprehension in children from excessive helicopter noise
- Farías introduces legislation to restrict non-electric helicopter operations at city-owned heliports and require noise monitoring and public reporting by the Department of Environmental Protection
- The committee is considering resolutions calling on the state to establish a helicopter noise tax and ban non-essential flights from certain heliports
- A resolution also calls on the Federal Aviation Administration to ban all non-essential helicopter flights over New York City
Amanda Farías
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Good morning, folks.
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I really quickly wanted to start off today, reading a quote from my committee's predecessor for my consignment, Paul Violone, from post my last helicopter hearing that reads.
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Love watching you and your hearings.
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So very proud.
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Keep kicking, but he's a different word.
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But but Love Paul, which I thought was great because here we are again bringing it back to a topic that was really important to him during this hearing.
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While sharing this committee.
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So good morning, and welcome to today's hearing on the New York City Council's Committee on development.
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I am majority leader Amanda Fettias, and I've had the privilege of chairing this committee.
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I want to thank my colleagues on the committee for being here today as well as the representatives from EDC, DEP, advocates and members of the public who have joined us.
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I'd like to note that we've been joined by council members of Botcher and Marte.
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Today's hearing will examine the important issue of helicopter noise and safety in New York City.
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Over the past 5 years, 301 has seen a staggering 2329% increase in helicopter noise complaints.
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Exposure to the excessive noise produced by helicopter flights has been associated with serious health effects like high blood pressure, cognitive impairments, and diminished reading comprehension in children.
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It is simply unacceptable for our communities to suffer these consequences for the brief enjoyment of wealthy tourists who want to ride in helicopters, especially considering that city receives relatively little revenue from these flights.
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In addition to the noise issue, we have unfortunately seen several tragic helicopter accidents over the years that have raised major safety concerns.
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These include the deadly 2018 crash in the east river that killed 5 passengers and a 2019 crash on the roof of a Manhattan building that killed the pilot.
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In 2016, the city and the helicopter tourism industry reached an agreement to cut the number of sites seen flights leaving from the downtown Manhattan, California in half.
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Resulting in about 30,000 fewer flights per year.
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While this was an important step forward, the surge in noise complaints shows that it simply wasn't enough.
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More needs to be done to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers.
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That's why we are considering a series series of package of legislations today to address this problem from multiple angles.
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First, we have intro 26, which I which I sponsor, that would restrict nano or helicopter operations at city owned teleports to electric powered aircraft only.
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Electric helicopters technology has come a long way in recent years, with successful demonstrations showing they are much quieter than traditional combustion engine helicopters.
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This bill has received strong support for support from key advocates who agree it would make a real difference in cutting helicopter noise and pollution.
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By leveraging the city's control over its teleports, we can accelerate the transition to cleaner and quieter helicopter technology.
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We have also intro 70, sponsored by council member wrestler, which will go a step further and prohibit all nonessential helicopters from operating at city owned teleports.
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Next, intro 27, which I also sponsored, would require DEP to install sound meters to monitor helicopter noise in impacted areas.
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And provide monthly public reports.
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This data is crucial for effective effectively regulating the industry.
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Finally, we have 3 resolutions before the committee.
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Resolution 85 sponsored by council member, Gennaro, calls on the state to establish a noise tax on nonessential helicopter flights.
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Resolution 226 sponsored by council member Brewer calls on the state to ban nonessential use of the West 30th Street, Singapore.
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And Resolution 233, also sponsored by Council member Brewer, calls on the FAA to ban all nonessential helicopter flights over New York City.
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While the FAA has jurisdiction over flight paths and much of the airspace, the city can and must use the tools at its disposal to protect our residents.
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I look forward to hearing from the NYC, DC, NDP about their efforts and plans to address helicopter noise and safety.
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I also wanna hear feedback from advocates and the public on this package of pills.
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Before we begin, I'd like to remind folks present today to please maintain duquorum throughout the hearing.
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If you are here to testify, you'll have 3 minutes to speak when your name is called.
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Police keep responses concise.
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You don't have to use all of that time so that everyone has a chance to be heard.
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If you are unable to finish, please submit your complete written testimony to testimony at counsel.nyc.gov.
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Just another quick note.
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If you agree with something in this room, you are to remain the public is to remain silent.
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Please use the support gesture.
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That I just displayed.
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Finally, I'd like to thank the economic development team here at the council, senior council, Alex Paladov senior policy analyst William Hungach And Finance Analyst Glenn Marcelloni for all their hard work preparing for this hearing.
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I will now turn it over to our committee council to administer the oath.
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I'd like to call up Mikael Adgate from EDC, Jennifer Sun from New York City Economic Development Corporation, Anton Fredericksen from NYCADC, Carlene McLaughlin from DEP, and Mark.
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Mark Pagon.
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Pagan.
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Page.
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Mark Page from DEP as well.