A chorus of elected officials from the Upper West Side and beyond delivered a clear message outside the West 30th Street Heliport last week: like many New Yorkers, they’ve had it with the helicopters, and they’re calling on the federal government to do something about it.

“[The helicopters] are a nuisance and a safety hazard to the five boroughs and New Jersey,” said newly elected UWS City Councilmember Gale Brewer, at the presser. “We are tired of this situation and we are not going to stand for it anymore.”

New York has always been noisy, but a growing number of New Yorkers are increasingly incensed about the noise produced by helicopters, the majority of which serve neither public safety nor news gathering, but tourists and affluent commuters.

“New Yorkers registered 7,700 complaints about helicopter noise with 311 in 2020, that’s double [the number] in 2019,” Brewer said. As of the end of September, a remarkable 17,733 complaints regarding helicopters have been recorded this year, and in October, 2,069 additional complaints were recorded, according to Brewer. Consider the 311 operators fielding the calls made by individuals so irate that they have chosen to pick up the phone and call the city.

“Tens of thousands of flights a year. It’s no wonder that the oppressive, disorienting helicopter noise is now an ever-present part of life for so many of us,” Brewer said.

All, often, for a photo op.

Reining in the hordes of helicopters will not be easy; it won’t take an act of God, but it might take an act of Congress. That’s because city and state officials are limited in their ability to act, as regulation of the airspace above New York City is the purview of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The Improving Helicopter Safety Act would ban most helicopter traffic above New York City, with exceptions for public health and safety, as well as construction. Another bill, the Safe and Quiet Skies Act, would prohibit commercial air tours over national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, military installations, and national cemeteries.

“Either bill would make a big difference,” explained Rob Gottheim, District Director at Nadler’s office. “I have been with Nadler 23 short years, and have been working on this for at least 20 years.”

Nothing is easy in New York City.

“There was no use in talking to Giuliani,” Gottheim continued. “After Giuliani, it was hard to talk to Bloomberg: not only did the man own helicopters, he was a pilot himself. We were greatly disappointed in de Blasio, we thought [his] plan was a very weak plan. So we want a total ban. It’s kind of crazy that we didn’t do it after 9/11.”

After 9/11, Walt Disney World and Disneyland lobbied for and received no-fly zones above their parks. Why New York City—the primary place where the events of 9/11 occurred—did not receive such a designation is unclear.

“We’re up against the general aviation lobby,” Gottheim said, and they “don’t want to give one inch.”

Will Upper West Siders ever be able to live in peace?

“When will we be able to eat a bagel and a schmear in silence? I’m not going to guarantee anything, but we’re going to do our damndest to make sure this happens and we’re committed to making it happen,” Gottheim said.

As the press conference wound down—“we need to stop this now before we turn into Sao Paolo,” railed Ken Coughlin, of Community Board 7—the Rag spotted Melissa Elstein, of both Stop the Chop NY/NJ and the West 80s Neighborhood Association. Stop the Chop has a petition to end nonessential helicopter flights over NYC on Change.org that more than 10,000 people have already signed.

“Stop the Chop NY/NJ is an all volunteer organization,” Elstein said. “We’re just community members who are doing this seven days a week because the helicopters are flying seven days a week. I’d rather do other things with my time than fight helicopters,” she laughed.

For those who shake their fists at the racket, Elstein has some context.

“If it’s a commuter, it’s going to roar really fast, very loud, and straight across Central Park. If it’s a tourist, they will circle over Jackie O. Reservoir or Sheep’s Meadow. We have video footage of a Naumberg Concert where you can’t even hear the last note of the symphony because of a helicopter. And now they’re advertising to fly over the Thanksgiving Parade!”

But it isn’t just about quality of life, or the disruption of events like Shakespeare in the Park, a summer symphony, or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

“This is a safety issue, a security issue, a health issue, and an environmental issue—it’s a multi-faceted problem created by a niche industry that’s [causing] suffering for thousands, if not millions,” Elstein said. “It impacts our neighborhood except when it’s stormy or raining. We’ve gotten to the point where we’re praying for inclement weather!”

A spokesperson for Blade, “an urban air mobility platform” which allows people to book spots on scheduled flights and to charter private flights, said in a statement that its competitors are causing the problems.

“We agree with the letter to Secretary Buttigieg and Administrator McDonell that helicopter tour operators such as FlyNYON are causing unnecessary noise disturbances to our community and the doors-off nature of their flights raises significant safety concerns,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said Blade plans to “integrate quiet and zero-emission Electric Vertical Aircraft (EVA) on all routes as EVA become available.”

Requests for comment from flyNYON, a tour operator, and the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, an industry trade group, have not yet been returned.

Back on the Upper West Side, skies were cloudy, but several choppers were audible in the distance. Enthusiasts and disapprovers alike can follow flights above the Upper West Side at sites such as Flightradar24.