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TESTIMONY
Michael Hannaman, Legal Extern at National Resources Defense Council, on the Health Impacts and Environmental Pollution from Unnecessary Helicopter Flights in New York City
2:25:48
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129 sec
Michael Hannaman, a legal extern at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a law student at NYU School of Law, testifies about the harmful effects of helicopter noise and emissions in New York City.
- Exposure to heightened transportation noise like helicopter noise increases health risks such as arterial inflammation, heart problems, heart disease, stroke, and death.
- Helicopter noise is perceived as twice as loud as fixed-wing aircraft at the same decibel level, according to FAA and NASA findings.
- Unnecessary helicopter tourist flights from city-owned heliports produce significant carbon dioxide emissions and noise pollution, impacting quality of life.
- NRDC supports bills and resolutions under consideration to restrict non-essential helicopter operations, monitor noise levels, and reduce emissions to achieve climate goals.
Michael Hannaman
2:25:48
Hi.
2:25:48
My name is Michael Hahneman.
2:25:50
I am a legal expert that National Resources Defense Council and a law student at NYU School of Law.
2:25:55
NRDC is a not for profit, legal, and scientific organization active in a wide range of environmental health.
2:26:01
Natural resources protection and quality of life issues across the country around the world and here in New York City, where our main offices have been located since the organization was founded in 1970.
2:26:11
Excessive noise threatens the health and quality of life of New York City residents.
2:26:15
Exposure to heighten transportation noise increases the risk of arterial inflammation and these are heart problems.
2:26:21
And research has indicated that it does so independently of other environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors.
2:26:27
Helicopter noise is especially harmful to human health because it is intermittent and exceptionally loud.
2:26:32
Researchers have found intermittent noise is associated with higher rates of heart disease, stroke and death as compared to comparable levels of background noise, and chopper noise is especially piercing.
2:26:43
The FAA and NASA have now both found that public perceives helicopter noise to be twice as loud as comparable decibel fixed wing aircraft.
2:26:50
The noise from these gratuitous helicopter flights inescapable in New York City at Lombard's residence multiple times per day in their own homes, in their workplaces, and in the city's public parks.
2:27:00
Noise is not the only environmental hazard imposed by necessary helicopter flights.
2:27:04
Taurus helicopters produce approximately £950 of carbon dioxide emissions every hour, which is over forty times the average hourly emissions of a passenger car containing the same number of people.
2:27:16
Some helicopters still burn toxic lighted aviation fuel.
2:27:20
The EDC owned East 34th Street, Elaport, and downtown Manhattan, Elaport produce as of 2022, 58,000 acopter flights annually, and 95% of those flights are tourist joy rides.
2:27:31
It makes little sense to allow these highly polluting and unnecessary flights to continue at a time when cities also spending 1,000,000,000 of dollars on climate change resiliency projects.
2:27:40
For these reasons, NRDC supports each of these 3 bills and 3 of the resolutions under consideration today, These would cut polluting helicopter air contaminants achieve city and safe level warming emissions reduction goals and reduce noise level across the city bring in the quality of life for 100 of 1000 of New Yorkers.
2:27:56
Thank you.
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Janet Handal, President of Waterside Tenants Association, on Noise and Safety Impacts of Seaplanes and Helicopters Operating Near Waterside in Manhattan
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Merritt Birnbaum, President and CEO of Riverside Park Conservancy on Impacts of Non-Essential Helicopter Operations on Hudson River Parks