Dan's Papers -March 27, 2009

As the summer season approaches, Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine is trying to gain support for a new version of his own proposed legislation that would curb helicopter noise on the East End. Romaine introduced his original version of the bill last summer, and a revision of it was voted down last fall.

The most recent incarnation of the proposed law, as well of the original legislation, was written in response to numerous complaints of low-flying helicopters, despite Representative Tim Bishop and Senator Chuck Schumer negotiating with helicopter operators, asking their cooperation in maintaining minimum altitudes of 2,500 feet. Now, rather than taking aim at helicopters flying below a specific altitude, the new bill will regulate copters flying in a "careless of reckless manner," which Romaine defines in his bill as "failing to take all actions reasonably necessary for safe operation, or operating at an altitude that creates a hazard or undue hardship for persons or property on the surface." He also cites several court cases that have upheld similar legislation in other areas of the country. Romaine says that such legislation wouldn't be difficult to enforce because every aircraft can easily be tracked by radar. Any one violating the law would face a fine up to $1,000 or a year in jail.

"People are getting aggravated," Romaine said in a phone interview. In a press release he stated, "North Shore and East End residents cannot go another summer with helicopters continually buzzing above their heads."

The original bill was voted down because it has been argued that local municipalities have no jurisdiction regulating the airspace in their areas - that's the job of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"The United States Congress has reserved unto itself the right to regulate the national airspace as provided under the preemption clause of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, and has designated the FAA to administer those regulations. Accordingly, only the FAA is authorized to regulate the operation of aircraft," said Chris Dancy, media relations director of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a group that has vocally opposed Romaine's efforts to place restrictions on helicopters flying through our area. "The U.S. air transportation system is the safest in the world. AOPA believes that strict adherence to and enforcement of federal aviation regulations is the best way to maintain that level of safety and opposes any efforts, however well-intentioned, that could undermine a uniform application of those federal standards."

And in a 2007 letter to the Town of Southold, Gregory Pecoraro, vice president of regional affairs for AOPA wrote, "all of the navigable airspace in this country is within the sole domain of federal regulation. Congress has acted to vest the FAA with exclusive responsibility for managing the nation's navigable airspace, and federal courts have upheld this principle on several occasions."

But, Romaine charges, the FAA hasn't done much to stop the noise on the East End. "I'd love to see the FAA do its job," he said. "The FAA is posing no restrictions on helicopters in the most crowded flight space in the world."

Helicopter noise has long been a sore point for East Enders. With the twin forks being an ideal location for second homes for the affluent, these same people have the means to charter a helicopter to fly them out here for their extended jaunts.

However, when Bishop and Schumer negotiated a minimum altitude for helicopters, they also convinced helicopter operators to change their flight patterns. Now, helicopters flying from Manhattan to any of the three, main East End heliports - East Hampton Airport, Gabreski Airport in Westhampton and the Southampton Village heliport - fly mostly along the North Shore of Long Island before dipping down to the South Fork. So now the bulk of the noise complaints are generated on the North Fork and Shelter Island.

"We encourage any efforts by the state, county or federal government to limit helicopter noise," said Dan McCormick, deputy attorney for the Town of Riverhead, who said the town fields many phone calls complaining about helicopter noise. "We applaud any efforts to address the altitude of helicopter activity. Something clearly needs to get done about this in [Riverhead]."

The first public hearing regarding Romaine's new helicopter legislation will have taken place as of press time (March 24), but the legislator is hoping a vote can happen prior to the summer, which is invariably when helicopter trips to the East End increase. There will likely be several more public hearings prior to a vote. Those who want to speak out can check the County's meeting calendar.