TESTIMONY
Janet Handal, President of Waterside Tenants Association, on Noise and Safety Impacts of Seaplanes and Helicopters Operating Near Waterside in Manhattan
2:23:31
·
134 sec
Janet Handal speaks in support of the proposed bills to regulate helicopter noise, but calls for extending the measures to also address noise and safety concerns from seaplanes operating near the Waterside residential area in Manhattan.
- Waterside is located on a triangular platform in the East River between 23rd-28th Streets, facing the East 34th Street heliport
- The heliport causes near-constant noise disturbance for the 4,000 Waterside residents
- Seaplanes also land frequently on the East River in front of Waterside, using the 23rd Street Marina for passenger operations
- The seaplanes have to use a 'runway' to take off and land, leading to incessant noise every few minutes during peak hours
- Handal highlights the risk to public safety from seaplane operations close to the residential area
- Both helicopter and seaplane operations need to be regulated to protect the health and safety of Waterside residents
Janet Handal
2:23:31
Hello.
2:23:32
My name is Janet Handel, and I'm president of the Waterside Tennis Association in Manhattan and represent the 4000 people living there.
2:23:40
I wanna take a moment to thank the majority leader of the council member brewer and council member wrestler for your leadership on this really, really important topic.
2:23:49
Waterside is located in Manhattan on the East River between 23rd 28th Street directly across the FDR from Bellevue.
2:23:57
We are built on a triangular platform in the river, which places us out in the middle of the river.
2:24:03
At this spot, the East River is a little over half a mile wide.
2:24:07
We are here today to speak in support of the package of bills, especially given that we have the very near to us, the heliport on East 34th Street which provides almost incessant noise, and it has significant impacts on our community.
2:24:22
However, the tenants at Waterside think that this package needs to be expanded to include the seaplanes that land on the East River directly in front of us.
2:24:32
The sea seaplanes use the 23rd Street Marina for passenger embarking and disembarking.
2:24:38
The Marina is managed by EDC.
2:24:41
All of the issues, excuse me, all the issues cited about the helicopter noise and air pollution apply to the seaplanes.
2:24:50
With an but there's the additional point that I wanted to make about this.
2:24:54
The helicopters pretty much go up and down, but the the seaplanes have to have a runway to take off and land.
2:25:01
In the summertime, they land we have planes about every 3 to 4 minutes.
2:25:07
So it is absolutely incessant, you know, Friday afternoons, Thursday afternoons, Sunday night, Monday morning.
2:25:14
It's dangerous because these planes oh, you see them just like that.
2:25:19
You know, they're they're lined up.
2:25:20
Oh, and I'm getting down to next to nothing.
2:25:22
So anyway, I just wanna tell you that it's very risky to waterside and also to you know, the the other side of the river.
2:25:31
This this when they started flying there, nothing was built there.
2:25:35
Waterside wasn't even built there.
2:25:37
It's a very different situation now, and it needs to be rectified for public safety.
2:25:41
Thank you.
2:25:42
And health, thanks.
2:25:44
Yep.
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Stephen Tanenbaum, Prospect Park South Resident, on Helicopter Noise Pollution Impacting Central Brooklyn Neighborhoods and Public Spaces
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Michael Hannaman, Legal Extern at National Resources Defense Council, on the Health Impacts and Environmental Pollution from Unnecessary Helicopter Flights in New York City