|\ ! jli\iii|.\lti|i|

'" "t'"'".^ -,."-.r': """" Januarl 23.20t)7 \'l:rlior (. lllrkel J\iiut;n'struloi I'cdcrul ..\r'iai iol -\rlnrinistration ii01) hrricpcndcncc

.'\r'ctruc.

SW washingk)n.

iX :059 ! I)car r\rlilinisilulol Illakcv: i \\'riiL' on ircl:ail ol'tc'sidcnts oi'my disl cl on the Wesr Sirle of Manhattan q,ho c.rDcricnre ir ronslirnt tnlPecl lion mors-and more heiicoptcrrs tuming at Wcst 83d Strcet and Riverside Uir," i,, if\. io'.ard ( c'nlral

l'alk uDdlhcn circlc lrack.liclicoptcrs arc not permittedio flv over residr,.ntial ,."u, ,,,J i:rto thc Park. I ils() und!'isliii)d thai thr'rc arc norv fivc (5) hrli{jopter con:panies at tire wesl -l{.) Strccrt llclipon. irn{iI \vus

trnck'i lltc inri:rcssi0lt

hul thcrlj rvas

only ouc company. ( i):rr'llinitv lloarcj i has hcld hearings on this topic in the past, and I suggcslthar rvc schcdulc " rrtcctinr:

ivilh lhr' Ci)rrrr]luni'ry lloard anrj other intcrested particsto cnsurc t6at thc pikrls ol'torr.ist and i)lhcr n(n)-unlcrsfnc_r hciicoptcrs no longcr fly ovcr rcsidcntial areas in lvlanhattan. i iook lbrrrard io vol[.r!'spousc. 'l Hi..(l( )i iN(ilr. ()F 'l : ir r (ln \'()FN E\\. y()iiK

Sinc'erel-v. 

# ir' Gaii:A. Brerver coMMtl-fl:ES

r,:\iri, ti (ir\tii\r..ttr Ire:; rl!arrrii liDr1 ..:rt1! f,{r.si{1. lli.\i itf liNi1i i:ri \t.rlir

.... !ji or!f;l.lslr. trii!Ji; rnlsij ti i)t:is,J,tit. !l:Fr, IE.ctemRegion

U.S. Deportment 6-fice otttrj cegionat

Administrator of Tronsportotion Feclelol Aviolion Administrotion 

## 1.,1A3. I 2007 'l Aviation Plaza Jamaica, NY 1 1434



### TheHonorable

Gale A. Brewer TheCouncil

of theCity of New York DistrictOffrce 563 Columbus

Avenue New York, NY 10024 Dear Councilwoman

Brewer: This is in response

to your letter

of Janaary

23,2007,

on behalf

of your constituents, concerning

helicopter

haffic overresidential

neighborhoods

in Manhattan,

New York. In order to properly

address the issues

raised in your letter,

additional

time is needed

to thoroughlyreview your constifuents' concems.You can expect a reply from us no laterthan April 13,2007. If you requirefurther information please contact my offrce or the Air Traffic Organization at 404-305-6220. Sincerelv. 

# !tv-',L Manny Weiss Regional Administrator Enclosure Transmitted

CorrespondenoeGALE A. BREVER COUNCIL MEMEER, DISTRICT 6

MANHATiAN DISTTICT OTFICE t63 COLIjMBUS AVENUE, ^r 3?* STIEET

NEW YOIK, NY IOO2I Ql2\ A1!'02e2 FAX (214 8?1.02?9 CITY HALL OFFTCE 250 BROADVAY, ROOM I7" NEW AORK. NY IOOOT \2r4 1a$-691t FAX (2r4 5t?-7717 8rlc.br.s.r@cou!.il.nYc.nY !s eev.nyc.o{tr.il.i'fo trrcL\



# ffi w THECoUNCIL OF THECITYOFNEWYORK

MENTA|. HE^!..llI' ll|ENI ! Ar.coBous[ DruG rtErJsE & OVEISIGHT & May 5,2008 Mr. RobertStugell Acting Administator Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence

Ave, SW Washington,

DC 20591 DearAdministrator Sturgell: I write on behalf of EugeneBemeckerof 185 west End Aveirue, #2PC, New York, NY 10023 who is complaining aboutthe noisy helicopters that fly along the Hudson River, over the nir".rla. Souttr buitangi Riverside Borrlevard from West 59t Street

to West 72 Street.Since be"ember 2007, Mr. Bemecker believes that there has been an incrcase in the number of helicopters

flying over our community on the upper West Side' Residents

who live on West 83d Steet and Riverside Drive also conplain aboutthe noise ftom the helicopters

that fly in their area.

The helicopters

turn around

at this location, as well as in the area

aroundRiverside South. I look forward to an explanation as to why the helicopters, particularly thoseopelated and flown for tourists, fly within close proximity to a residentialmne. what can be doneto ban the tourist helicopte$ from fllng up and down the Hudson River into residentialcommrmities? If you havequeitions, please contactRosalba

Rodriguez

or nrc at2l2-8734282' Thankyou for your attention to this matter'

Sincerely, 

# ?owe>- c*A.BrewerT'

,/ coxl|tTrBas AGING NNANCE GATETAL WELPARE

VAIEIFIONTSU.9.Oepattment

ofTransportatbn Fedcnl Avladon Administration Office of the Regional Adminisrator Eastern Region 1 Aviation Plaza Jamaica, NY 11434-4809 

# JUITIE L4S Ms. Gale A. Brewer Council Member TheCitv of New York 563 Coiumbus

Avenue at 87' Street New York, New York 10024 Dear Ms. Brewer: ThisisinreplytoyourletterdatedMay5,200s,toActingAdministratorRobertSturgell' "n U.tt"ff ofVL* constituent Eugene Bemecker,

conceming

helicopter

overflights of the West Side of Manhattan. Helicopters,

generally,

operate under visual flight rules

and arenot in direct

contact with Air irurit" co"";r".r. ih"-flight path you reference alongthe east

bank of the HudsonRiver is tt " ofn"iutty r""ognized and recomrnended route for helicopters

to follow whenflying along thewest side of Manhattan. This coastline

flight path

has been in place for many years. IJeally, helicopters

should not be flying directly

over the Riverside

southbuildings; ho*"u"r, it is not a violation of aviation

regulations

if theydo. Residents

maycall the helicopter

industry representatives

at 845-353-6050

when theyobserve

overhead flights' tfre representatives

will makeevery effort to identifi the operation and reinforce

the need for helicopter

pilots to stay on the recommended

route. However,

if a helicopter

is ever observed operating

in a manner

that is unsafe,

a call shouldbe placed

to the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) safetyInspectors at 631-755-

1300 to report the activity. Such a flight will bethoroughly investigated

andif it is determined

thatanaviation regulatioriwas

violated the pilot will be subject

o substantial

fines and penalties.

It should beinoted that helicopters

do not havea set minimum altitudethat they must maintain. There are three ways to challenge

existing aviation reguiations,

including the imposition

ofa banon tourist heliiopter flights. One is to petition the FAA for a rule change. This process is explained

at http:/www.faa.gov/regulationslolicies/rulemaking/petition/#rulemaking. Second, is to legislate

a newfederal

aw. Third,is to win a ruling in court' Sincerely,

Resional AdministratorCAIE A. BREWER :l:\l \| | \\ DrsfttrcT {)fIrcL \r \\ \1rR( \\ : t1 ,t1: i-r,,tsl \\,:ii r_ r ,l {]IT\' lI;rI-I- oFFIc€ -'r' lrnr\l)\\,r: rnn)\t I ri \r\ r1)rlK \\ irtul 'll _si .1 : t.1\ l!t: l 11.ill l\rr.((;\' lN (;rn r10\\l|\t 'f r rr,Cl()LrNcIt- () I, THF] (,i'r\: ( )l; N Li\\' Y()RK COMMIT1EES

|\ \\( rl (,tr\tlit \t. \\ t:t J,\Rt. r(;l tr r t)t M To\ \rr,\1 \r iIi\nH.\fi:NT\].It:I\Rl)\ {r\. \t.{:(rl(n ts[

l)Rl (; \at sl: & l)rs\lItrn sriRYti ,,5

. ()\ I RStli|f \\l)t\\lisjl(i.!tk)\i

December

19, 2008 Robert A. Sturgell Acting Administrator Federal Aviation Administratiorr 800 lndependence

Avenue, SW Washington,

DC 20591 Dear Acting Administrator Sturgell: I write on behalf of residents ofthe Upper West Side of Manhattan who have reported to my office a number ofnon-emergencyhelicopters hovering over their buildings on Saturday, November29, 2008, as well as other days. I have attached someof the photos taken bv constituents

on that day. As you know, tou st helicopters are not permitted to fly over residential areas, yet Upper West Siders

continueto experience the constant

noise {iom more and more low-flying helicopters that circle over Central Park and then fly west over their residences en route to the river. This situation is worsening,with flights occurringas often as every 3-5 minutes throughout the day, and often until 8-9pm during the sumrner months. Along with Community Board 7, my office hasworked to ensure that the pilots of tourist and other non-emergency helicopters

no longer fly over residentialareas in Manhattan.What is the FAA doing to enforce the law requiring pilots to follow designated routes? I look forward

to your response.

Enclosure 

# \AA'N/-

Penny Ryan, District Manager, Community Board 7 Kieth Spadaro,

Deputy lnspector,Commanding Officer, 20 Precinct Kathleen O'Reilly, Deputy Inspector, Commanding

Qfficer, 24 Precinct Hon. Scott Stringer,ManhattanBorough President Sincerely,

### U.5.

Department o{Transportation FederaJ Aviation Adminirtration 

# FEB 0 4 2009 Office of the Regional Administrator Eastern Region 1 Aviation Plaza Jamaica, NY 11434-4809



### Mr. Cale A. Brewer Council Member TheCity of New York 563Columbus

Avenue at 87u Street New York, New York 10024 Dear Mr. Brewer: This is in reply to your letter datedDecember 19,2008,to Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell,on behalf of your constituents, conceming

helicopteroverflights ofthe Upper West Side of Manhattan,

NY. Thereis no law requiring helicopter pilots to follow designated routes, or preventing

them from overflying or hovering over buildings in Manhattan. Thereme recommended routes for helicopters

to follow in and around

the New York metro area, and recommended

policies for non-emergency

helicopters

to follow when hovering. However, the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA) cannot take enforcement

action on regulations

that do not exist. What we can report is that helicopter industry representatives

are making an active and concerted

effortto convince

thetourist

helicopter

companies,

whose pilotsarenot diligently adhering to the area'srecommended routes and hoveringpolicies,that it is in everyone's best interest,

including their own, to do so. Residents

shouldcontinue

to report disturbinghelicopter overflightsto the industry representatives

at 845-353-6050

with asmuch

detail aspossible.

Additionally,

if a resident everobserves

a helicopter

operating

in a manner

that they consider

unsafe, a call shouldbe placed to the FAA SafetyInspectors at 631-755-1300.

Such a flight will be thoroughly investigated

and if it is determined

that an aviation regulation wasviolated the pilot will be subject to substantial

fines and penalties. It shouldbe noted that helicopters

do not havea set minimum altitudethat they must maintain. Sincerely, 

# A (lin 

# NuuuW/ (/ / Carmine

Gallo U RegionalAdministrator