Living in New York City, from the loud pedestrians and the vehicles playing loud music, to the constant blaring of sirens, the roar and vibration of the subway passing by, to the hum of a helicopter hovering – it’s all unique to New York City “Symphony of the City”. Especially since people spend more time at home, it is easier to detect these dissonant sounds. So, the complaints came one after another. New Yorkers complained on Twitter: “Can anyone explain to me why there are so many helicopters in New York?!”
A survey of data on 311 complaints showed that by the end of September, New York City had received 17,700 complaints about helicopter noise, three times as many as the same period last year! And this number has exceeded the total number of related complaint calls in 2019 plus 2020. The vast majority of those complaints came from Manhattan, with about 3,200 complaints in New York’s other four boroughs.
New York helicopters fly over the city for a variety of reasons, including: law enforcement operations, medical transportation, but most of the geese are focused on business and tourism.
Although as early as five years ago, in order to appease New Yorkers and reduce the number of complaints, New York City has banned sightseeing helicopters from using takeoff and landing platforms every Sunday. But there are hundreds of helicopter takeoffs and landings a day for the remaining six days of the week, creating a constant distraction for New Yorkers working from home. Even on Sunday, there are still “machines” that slip through the net.
Living in Stacey Shub near the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan, I feel like I’ve had enough! As the helicopter got closer, the sound of “chuchuchu” slowly poured into her apartment…it made her heart beat faster and she couldn’t concentrate.
“It felt like an elephant sitting on my chest,” Stacey described how he felt. Even on a recent Sunday, she silently counted: By 1 p.m., a total of six helicopters were flying overhead.
“A lot of the condos are in the helicopter flight path, and now people are working from home,” said Councilman Mark Levine, who represents parts of northern Manhattan.
In fact, New Yorkers can’t accept a certain level of noise – after all, living in a metropolis like New York, prosperity and convenience also need to pay some price. The abrupt turnaround that silenced the bustling metropolis for a moment during the stay-at-home order has New Yorkers rethinking their relationship to noise.
The noise made by helicopters is especially annoying to the general public. In a survey this year, the Federal Aviation Administration cited a study that showed that aircraft noise was more disturbing than the same level of noise from ground sources.
The New York City Economic Development Corp oversees two local heliports — one near Wall Street and the other along the East River. The Development Authority said the pandemic had reduced revenue at both sites by more than 80%. While most sectors that provide urban air travel have suffered severe financial losses, there is one exception – NYONAir, better known as FlyNYON.
FlyNYON’s helicopter tour service is very popular, and you can take a “shoe selfie” – suspend your feet in the open helicopter door and take pictures of the unobstructed New York city scenery below your feet. Of course, this is risky! Everyone still try carefully! In a 2018 crash, five passengers tragically drowned in the East River.
A few years ago, similar helicopter tours drew so many complaints that New York City struck a deal with tour companies to limit flight frequencies, shorten routes and ban them from flying on Sundays. But NYON, which is based in New Jersey, and other unexpected operators in New York City, have not been affected.
They can fly at low altitudes through New York City with almost no restrictions. According to Flightradar24, more than a third of the 157 flights that appeared over New York City on a Sunday in late July were operated by NYON!
Ajit Thomas, a resident of the Upper West Side, said over the past year he has seen more and more helicopters hovering over Central Park, making noises in this quiet oasis in Manhattan.
That’s right, the areas along the East River, the Upper West Side, and Downtown Wall Street with the most helicopter noise are also popular rental places. International students often choose to stay here, after all, it is very convenient to SVA, NYU, Baruch College, etc.
For example, the editor who lived in the waterside two years ago happened to have a tarmac next to the building where he lived. Although the scenery was beautiful and the river breeze was blowing, the roaring noise of the helicopter on top of his head was occasionally annoying.
