Lawmaker: Helicopters seem to be ‘violating FAA rules,’ flying at ‘low and potentially unsafe levels,’ over Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - There’s nothing neighborly about these flights.

Staten Islanders are fed up with persistent noise from low-flying helicopters, including sightseeing choppers flying out of Linden Airport in New Jersey.

“There seem to be operators who are violating FAA rules and also flying at low and potentially unsafe levels,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn).

She said, “We are keeping FAA informed of complaints we received and the agency is investigating.”

Said Malliotakis, “We are also looking into whether we can impose a minimum flight altitude at either the federal or municipal level for New York City without interfering with fixed-wing aircraft.”

The constant helicopter noise is “driving us crazy,” according to one frustrated New Dorp resident.

“We are being strafed at low altitudes constantly,” said the resident, who didn’t want their name used.

The flights are constant throughout the day until about 10 p.m. at night, the resident said.

“The noise is loud enough to shake houses and wake you from your sleep - if you can fall asleep during the flights,” they said. “It is having a major impact on the quality of life in the neighborhood.”

The Advance/SILive.com recently detailed complaints from North Shore and Mid-Island residents about noise from helicopters, including sightseeing choppers operated by the HeliNY company out of Linden Airport.

It now appears that South Shore residents are also hearing the racket.

“This is disturbing, annoying and disrupting to my family,” a Great Kills resident told the Advance/SILive.com. “I thought they were not going to fly over Staten Island. Why don’t they fly across the Kill van Kull?”

This resident said, “Please, don’t just let them reroute their flights to new neighborhoods.”

Rick Breitenfeldt, public affairs specialist for the Federal Aviation Administration, said that the FAA “did not change flight paths or implement new procedures.”

He said that helicopters typically fly over Staten Island using Visual Flight Rules (VSF) and just outside Newark Class B airspace.

“When flying VFR, pilots are not required to be under air traffic control,” he said.

Breitenfeldt said that the FAA does not assign specific routes or altitudes to pilots flying VFR outside of the Newark Class B airspace. Pilots often use visual cues like landmarks, major roads, railways, or waterways to navigate in the uncontrolled airspace.

Pilots operating VFR use the see-and-avoid method to conduct their flights and the responsibility for flying neighborly resides with the pilot operating the helicopter, Breitenfeldt said.

He said that helicopters may be operated at lower altitudes if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface.

Breitenfeldt said that the FAA “will continue its work to be responsive to people affected by aviation noise in communities around airports.”

Staten Island elected officials had fielded a number of complaints about the air noise in September.

An uptick in helicopter tours and trips connected to holidays and other New York City events were blamed at the time. The Advance/SILive.com reported that the noise was expected to subside.

HeliNY at the time said that they’d altered their flight paths so as not to fly over Staten Island.

The Advance/SILive.com has reached out to HeliNY for additional comment.