April 18, 2008
Heliport drill further delayed, Papal visit
Metroport manager Patiricia Wagner decided earlier this week that traffic will be too messy and the possibility of changes in TFRs for the pope's visit. Please join us on the 26th of April at East 34th St. Metroport. Not this weekend. Thanks for your understanding.
April 16, 2008
East End meeting on Southampton heliport
Community outreach continues as ERHC Special Advisor Robert Grotell met Monday with Mark Epley, Mayor of Southampton Village. Grotell informed the mayor of ERHC's past achievements, recent efforts, and agreements along the East End, and listened to the mayor's concerns and reports of community complaints. Village Board Trustee William Bates is an outspoken opponent of the heliport in online reports. ERHC welcomes contact from news media to provide more balance to their articles on East End landing facilities.
ERHC reminds members to fly neighborly in the area, and encourage non-members to do the same. The Village is considering further limitations to operating hours and charging fees, as well as suggesting they will consider closing the pad, despite deed restrictions. In this latter eventuality, someone would have to file a lawsuit to reopen the pad, clearly not the best solution, and air transportation would suffer.
April 14, 2008
ERHC meets with College Point, NY, Civic Assn
By Robert Grotell, ERHC Special Advisor
NYC Council Member Tony Avella (D-Northeast Queens) asked the Eastern Region Helicopter Council to attend a meeting in the College Point community of Queens to address helicopter noise complaints that his office had received.
ERHC Special Advisor Robert Grotell met with approximately 30 residents at a College Point Civic Association gathering on April 9, 2008, and provided background information on the Throgs Route, the Class G Flushing Exclusion and listened to several local concerns from residents who live under the route. Information was also provided on how to file a noise complaint with ERHC (flyneighborly.net) as well as NYC's 311 system. The meeting opened a productive dialogue with the College Point community and is another example of ERHC's ongoing public outreach efforts.
April 10, 2008
Safety drill postponed until April 19
Due to forecast inclement weather and the complexity of the event, host Patricia Wagner of East 34th Metroport made the difficult call Wednesday, to reduce inconvenience for as many as possible. If you were planning to attend, please join us on the 19th.
April 2, 2008
Productive meeting with Rep. Tim Bishop
By Robert Grotell, ERHC Special Advisor
On March 31, 2008, Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) held a follow up meeting to continue the discussion on helicopter noise impacts in his district and other areas of Long Island. The meeting was held in his Coram, NY office and was attended by Robert Grotell (ERHC); Manny Weiss, Diane Crean, Leo Prusak (FAA); Jim Brundige, Matt O’Brien (HTO); Tony Ceglio (FOK); and representatives for Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton.
The Congressman expressed his doubts over the voluntary nature of the current structure and our letter of agreement with the airports and Senator Schumer. His concern stems from continued complaints that he feels will only worsen during the summer season. One particular issue the Congressman raised was the lack of specific transition points off of the new North Shore Route for aircraft heading to HTO, FOK or 87N.
The FAA and I explained why transitions were not included on the new NY Helicopter Route Chart and how the recommended minimum altitude should go a long way in mitigating last season’s concerns from North Fork communities as well as those along the North Shore of Nassau and Suffolk counties. I then described our significant efforts over the past months, including working with the airports on modified noise abatement and monitoring procedures, conducting flight tests at HTO and FOK, our new websites, and our underlying commitment to work with communities and local elected officials to address their helicopter noise-related concerns. Jim Brundige described his positive perspective on the ERHC flight tests and explained how aircraft should be at or above 2,500 feet at Ferry before they begin their descent into HTO. Lastly, Tony Ceglio explained FOK’s draft helicopter procedures and also thanked ERHC for our efforts.
I further explained that our priorities include educating ERHC membership on the new North Shore Route and developing a series of performance indicators to determine program success. The Congressman was clear to all that he will push for increased FAA regulation if the program fails to adequately address the noise concerns.
Overall, Congressman Bishop was pleased with our efforts and those of the FAA and the airports. He was encouraged by our collective progress to date and closed the meeting in a positive manner with an improved outlook. He specifically thanked ERHC for aggressively taking the lead on many of the noise issues.
March 24, 2008
Generosity for East End understanding
On Friday, the President and Chief Pilot of an ERHC Regular Member flew a Eurocopter Dolphin from NJ to East Hampton (HTO), and Francis Gabreski (FOK) airports on Long Island in NY.
They conducted several flights along HTO's voluntary noise abatement routes with the airport manager and a prominent member of a local and vocal airport noise committee. ERHC Special Advisor Robert Grotell and the airport's assistant manager monitored the flight paths of the aircraft from the airport using the Air Scene equipment installed for traffic monitoring.
Both Grotell and the pilots report the series of activities provided some valuable information for improving the procedures and assisting area residents through sound reduction. The FOK meeting was productive and informative, said the pilots, who expect the airport's latest procedures to be issued to pilots in May.