Sightseeing helicopters at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport - the busiest public-use heliport in the world.
There are five helicopter tours companies which operate in Manhattan. They all use the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (DMH) which is owned by the City of New York and run by Saker Aviation, a Nevada-based company. Their activities are overseen by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). Since 2010, the tour companies have been using DMH exclusively due to the fact that local opposition forced them out of both the West 30th Street and the East 34th Street heliports.
These tours are allowed to operate 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They fly for 10 hours a day six days a week (Mon - Sat 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM) and 8 hours a day on Sundays (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM). On fair weather days, there are more than 300 flights per day, averaging more than one flight every two minutes. According to data provided by the NYCEDC pursuant to a Freedom of Information request, there were 33,378 tourist flights between April and October of 2013 alone. There is almost never a moment during daylight hours without a tour helicopter flying over New York Harbor and the Hudson River. There are usually 3 - 6 tours operating at the same time, with another 7 - 10 choppers on rotation on the tarmac, creating a din that surpasses permitted airport decibel levels.
Yet, for all their activity, these tours bring almost no revenues and no jobs to the City of New York. Page 12 of Saker Aviation's annual 10K report shows that it paid NYC a paltry $2.3 million in concession fees in 2013. Furthermore, the few jobs created by this industry are located out-of-state: in Nevada, where Saker is heaquartered and in New Jersey, where the helicopters are parked overnight and where the pilots and mechanics live.
New York City's contract with Saker Aviation enables these sightseeing helicopters to routinely flout FAA regulations and produce excessive noise and air pollution which endangers the health and safety of the numerous and densely-populated communities along their New York Harbor and Hudson River flight path. Mayor de Blasio can easily and lawfully solve this problem with the stroke of a pen today. Under Section 7.04(b) of the City's contract with the heliport operators, the City has the absolute right to "terminate this Agreement upon twenty five (25) days prior written notice to [Saker Aviation] for any reason deemed by the City to be in its interest."
These tours are allowed to operate 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They fly for 10 hours a day six days a week (Mon - Sat 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM) and 8 hours a day on Sundays (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM). On fair weather days, there are more than 300 flights per day, averaging more than one flight every two minutes. According to data provided by the NYCEDC pursuant to a Freedom of Information request, there were 33,378 tourist flights between April and October of 2013 alone. There is almost never a moment during daylight hours without a tour helicopter flying over New York Harbor and the Hudson River. There are usually 3 - 6 tours operating at the same time, with another 7 - 10 choppers on rotation on the tarmac, creating a din that surpasses permitted airport decibel levels.
Yet, for all their activity, these tours bring almost no revenues and no jobs to the City of New York. Page 12 of Saker Aviation's annual 10K report shows that it paid NYC a paltry $2.3 million in concession fees in 2013. Furthermore, the few jobs created by this industry are located out-of-state: in Nevada, where Saker is heaquartered and in New Jersey, where the helicopters are parked overnight and where the pilots and mechanics live.
New York City's contract with Saker Aviation enables these sightseeing helicopters to routinely flout FAA regulations and produce excessive noise and air pollution which endangers the health and safety of the numerous and densely-populated communities along their New York Harbor and Hudson River flight path. Mayor de Blasio can easily and lawfully solve this problem with the stroke of a pen today. Under Section 7.04(b) of the City's contract with the heliport operators, the City has the absolute right to "terminate this Agreement upon twenty five (25) days prior written notice to [Saker Aviation] for any reason deemed by the City to be in its interest."
