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Chop Lifting
Clatter Chatter about Hudson River Park Heliport
| The West 30th Street Heliport, within the Hudson River Park, is the starting point for more than 14,000 flights per year, many of which fly past Lower Manhattan | |
Stop the Chop NY/NJ, a grassroots organization that advocates for reducing non-essential chopper flights over the metropolitan region, made a presentation to the Advisory Council of the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) on September 8. Stop the Chop board member Kennth Lay contended that flights to and from the West 30th Street Heliport (located in the park) that are not related to government, military, law enforcement, media, or lifesaving operations should be drastically curtailed. A preponderance of flights originating at the West 30th Street facility pass close to Lower Manhattan, because air corridors to Kennedy Airport and the Hamptons require these helicopters to fly south along the Hudson River waterfront, before crossing New York Harbor to traverse Brooklyn and Queens.
“We term non-essential helicopters those that are commuter, charter, and sightseeing flights,” Mr. Lay began. “Many of you on the committee are already aware of how disruptive the West 30th Street Heliport is to the park itself, to the people work here, and to visitors. But our goal is to give a sense of how disruptive these flights are to the rest of the region, because the impact really is felt throughout New York City, New Jersey, and on Long Island. We have hundreds of thousands of parks, schools, homes, businesses, places of worship that have these low-flying flights going back and forth over them every single day.”
| This map shows the multiple, repeated routes of one helicopter (a 1997 Bell 407 registered to Blade Air Mobility) that made more than 50 trips between the West 30th Street facility and Kennedy Airport on a single day in October 2022. | |
Mr. Lay illustrated this point with tracking data about a single helicopter (N92N, a 1997 Bell 407 single-turboshaft model, registered to Blade Air Mobility) that made more than 50 trips between Kennedy Airport and the West 30th Street heliport on a single day in October 2022. More recently – on Tuesday, October 6, according to the FlightAware aircraft tracking website – this same helicopter made 21 trips between West 30th Street and New Jersey (mostly to Newark Airport). The majority of these sorties were at an elevation of 300 to 500 feet – eye level for many Lower Manhattan apartments.
At that altitude, Mr. Lay continued, “the noise is 87 decibels, which is as loud as a lawn mower or a blender running right in front of you. So when these go overhead, you can’t talk to someone on the street. They cause apartments to shake. You can hear them in the subway stations underground.”
Former NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, a Stop the Chop board member, said, “I oversaw the building of $3 billion worth of waterfront parks in New York City and was dismayed to see them get ruined by helicopter traffic. New York City is the worst city in America for unnecessary helicopter traffic. And it really is a social issue. It is people of means lording it over the unwashed masses down below because they can afford to fly above. They’re flying at super low altitudes. It’s a matter of when, not if, a helicopter laden with jet fuel crashes into a school or a bus. It is an extremely dangerous form of transportation. It’s completely unnecessary and is a pox on this city.”
Robert Atterbury, HRPT’s Executive Vice President of Park Relationships and Programs, countered, “this is a piece of essential infrastructure. Our board is looking to the City and State for guidance to understand the City and State’s needs for municipal and statewide infrastructure.”
Afterward, Andrew Rosenthal, board chairman for Stop the Chop, said, “the legal limit on flights at the West 30th Street Heliport is capped at 16,250 per year. Current volumes are around 14,000 per year, and we’re on pace to set a record. The City controls the two East River heliports and requires their operators to provide data. But HRPT, which controls the West 30th Street site, does not collect or publish these numbers.”
| A protest outside the West 30th Street Heliport, sparked by complaints about noise and pollution. | |
An HRPT spokesman responded, “the West 30th Street Heliport predates the park, and the HRPT has been guided by the historic positions of the State and City regarding the necessity for a West Side heliport as a transportation use. We remain committed to working with the State, the City and other stakeholders regarding longer-term planning considerations.”
HRPT also notes that tourism flights (a frequent source of complaints at the Downtown Skyport, on the East River waterfront, north of the Battery Maritime Building) are barred from the West 30th Street Heliport, and that revenue from the facility contributes approximately $1.5 million per year to the Hudson River Park’s budget.
Matthew Fenton
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Water Works
This is Your Invitation to Move Into an Ecological Time-Scale Continuum
In recent days, 100 murals and aluminum disks emblazoned with cryptic messages, such as “Meet at the Floodgate at High Tide” and “This Is Your Invitation to Move Into an Ecological Time-Scale Continuum” have appeared on Battery Park City sidewalks and walls. Read more...
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Wednesday, October 7
10am-12pm
Figure Al Fresco
Rector Park East
A model will strike poses for participants to draw. An educator will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Drawing materials provided, or bring your own. Free.
11:30am-2:30pm
Lunch Box
Fosun Plaza, 28 Liberty Street
Pop-up food fair featuring some of Lower Manhattan’s newer restaurants. $10 per lunch box, each with a protein and two sides.
12:30pm-2pm
Jazz Concert
Bogardus Plaza (Hudson Street between Chambers and Reade)
West Fourth Trio plays. Free.
1pm
Downtown Beats Chorus
200 Rector Place
Directed by Church Street School of Music, the Downtown Beats adult chorus is open to all who love to sing. Learn contemporary and classic songs and perform at community events throughout the year. Free.
1pm
Legacy of Steve Reich: Transcendence
Trinity Church
Music that pays tribute to pioneering composer Steve Reich. Free.
2pm-4pm
Elements of Nature Drawing
Wagner Park
Drawing class. An educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided, or bring your own. Free.
6pm
Transportation & Street Activity Permits Committee
1 Centre Street, 2202A-North, and livestreamed
Open to all. On the agenda:
- NYC Transit bus service along West Street/9A corridor and Hudson River Park
- Lower Manhattan placard parking
6pm
Sunset Yoga
Wagner Park
Outdoor yoga. Mats provided or bring your own. Free.
6pm
Dark Reading Matter
Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street
Reading by Jasper Fforde, author of Dark Reading Matter.
6pm
Kayla GC
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Musical performance. Free.
6:30pm
Legacy of Steve Reich: Celebrating 90
Trinity Church
Music that pays tribute to pioneering composer Steve Reich. Free.
7pm
Icons of Culture: esperenza spalding
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Featuring five-time Grammy® Award-winning musician esperanza spalding, a bassist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader celebrated for her innovative blend of jazz, classical, and R&B. In a candid conversation, spalding will discuss her inspirations, and the role jazz has played throughout her career. The evening will culminate in a performance. $59+.
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Thursday, October 8
1pm-3pm
Fiber Art Crafts Studio
200 Rector Place
Bring your projects, which can include—but are not limited to—knitting, crocheting, embroidery and small-loom weaving. Free.
3pm-3:45pm
Rugby Clinic
BPC Ball Fields
Rugby demonstration, skill and drills, and non-contact scrimmages, for ages 3 to 6. At 3:45pm, join coaches for a rugby clinic for ages 7 to 12. Free.
4:30pm-5:30pm
250 Years of America: P.O.V. Walking Tour
Meet at the 200 Vesey Street lobby
Learn about the history of Lower Manhattan with a walking tours from a distinct historical point of view. Today, learn about place-keeping in Chinatown with the Chinatown Art Brigade, centering stories of housing displacement, labor conditions, and public health in Chinatown. Free.
6pm
Lovestruck Balladeers
Wagner Park
The Lovestruck Balladeers enchant audiences with their masterful performances and inspired repertoire of ragtime, jazz and beautiful songs from around the world. Free.
6pm
Julia Easterlin
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Julia Easterlin pairs inventive musicianship with storytelling of her upbringing along Georgia’s Ogeechee River. Free.
6:30pm-8pm
American Single Malt: The Next Big Thing in Whiskey
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl Street
Explore the rich history and exciting future of American whiskey, from its 18th-century beginnings and the Whiskey Rebellion, through Prohibition and bourbon’s official recognition in 1964. The program includes a five-whiskey tasting flight. $55.
7pm
Herculine
McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street
Book reading. A “witty, often-chilling, compulsively readable” (Vogue) horror debut.
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