Dan's Papers - December 7, 2007 - Helicopters Buzz The North Fork

Telling Choppers To Fly Over The North Fork When Commuting To The Hamptons Makes Noise For North Forkers

It is never any fun when North Forkers get stuck having to deal with a problem that is normally just a South Fork problem. Half the people on the North Fork made the decision not to live on the South Fork to keep away from all of the glitz and glam. North Forkers are a quiet group, who enjoy the simple things in life.

So it makes interesting news when chopper noise from primarily private helicopters of the rich begins a cause for concern with public officials on the North Fork. Isn't this supposed to be a South Fork problem? After all, the South Forker's are the guys who ride around in choppers, some North Forker's do too, but not nearly as many right? Well, yes and no.

In 1998 there were 2,400 helicopter flights in and out of East Hampton, by 2006 the number had risen to 5,787 flights. Out of those flights that year 4,073 were during the months of July and August, averaging around 45 flights per day during the summer. That year out of 4,000 complaints to the East Hampton airport, 3,000 were about the helicopter noise. The numbers are still increasing and the people are still complaining.

This summer, East Hampton officials were able to convince Eastern Region Helicopter council members to direct pilots traveling from New York City to the Hamptons not to fly along the South Fork.

That's right, those chopper noises you heard are not guys headed for Southold, they are headed for the Hamptons while the North Fork has to deal with the noise. Oh it's just not an easy thing to deal with those rich guys in their choppers now is it?

In order to relieve the noise pollution on the South Fork, problems have shifted to the North Fork. Congressman Tim Bishop has scheduled a meeting to be held in December with representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, the five East End towns, the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, Brookhaven and Smithtown. The meeting is scheduled to be at Brookhaven Town Hall on Thursday, December 19 at 10 a.m. Southold Councilman Tom Wickham hopes the result of the meeting will be protocol for helicopter flights that does not overburden any of the East End communities.

Southold is trying to solve the problem with a plan from Councilman Dan Ross that helicopters that are not landing on the North Fork must maintain a height at least 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of at least 2,000 feet from the aircraft.

A forum was then held where Southold residents spoke their minds while special council adviser Robert Grotell and federal, state and county officials were present. There was then a hearing to discuss the proposed legislation, but Mr. Ross lost his bid for re-election to the Town Board so Wickham will take over the issue.

Perhaps the North Fork will fight back by sending over wafts of air filled with the smell of fresh apple pies from all of the family bakers out here as sort of retaliation. Then again, that probably wouldn't work.