Dear Supporters,
We hope this email finds you safe and well! Thanks for getting us to over 5K petition signatures! Our next goal is 7,500 by May 1. Please help us get there by forwarding our petition to all your contacts. Thanks!
For the most current Stop the Chop NY/NJ updates, please follow us on Twitter, as that gets updated daily (often multiple times per day). We send a newsletter every 2 weeks or so and you can sign up at www.stopthechopnynj.org
Good news: NY Congressmembers Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerry Nadler, and Nydia Velasquez recently reintroduced in Congress their federal bill H.R. 4880 (The Improving Helicopter Safety Act of 2019).
Their March 7th, 2021 Press Conference (which included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Hoboken Councilman Phil Cohen) received much press attention. If you missed any of the articles, see below for a selection, as well as a photo of the press event with the elected officials wearing our new Stop the Chop buttons!
Video of the press conference:
ABC News: https://abc7ny.com/helicopter-chopper-nyc-regulation/10395817/
Articles with excerpts:
NY1: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/03/08/helicopter-safety-bill-reintroduced-by-nyc-congress-members "NEW YORK — Democratic members of Congress Jerry Nadler, Carolyn Maloney, and Nydia Velázquez are pushing for a bill to improve helicopter safety. The measure would ban nonessential helicopter traffic over the five boroughs. The group announced the re-introduction of the Improving Helicopter Safety Act into Congress on Sunday. They argue that in addition to the constant noise pollution from helicopters, the risk of crashes in a densely populated airspace puts New Yorkers at risk. "You don't have to look any further then the 30 helicopter crashes since 1982 that have caused at least 25 fatalities for proof," Nadler said. "This bill is about prioritizes. Do we prioritize tourists joyriding over our city, and endangering our lives? Or do we prioritize the health of New Yorkers who live here year round?" Congressional members say complaints to the FAA to do something about this problem have largely been ignored."
NJ.COM:
https://www.nj.com/hudson/2021/03/in-hudson-county-a-renewed-push-to-ground-helicopter-tours.html
Excerpt: "From Hudson County’s waterfront, you can’t miss the helicopters. The aircraft are out every day, cruising low over the Hudson or circling the Statue of Liberty so tourists can snap photos. Some choppers also ferry the wealthy to and from New York City and to area airports. Now, two pieces of proposed federal legislation could put an end to those flights. The Safe and Quiet Skies Act and the Improving Helicopter Safety Act, both of which were first introduced into the House of Representatives in 2019 and reintroduced within the past two months, aim to put an end to commercial helicopter flights and give municipalities more control over their airspace."
BROOKLYN EAGLE:
https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/03/11/brooklyn-reps-reintroduce-bill-to-curb-noisy-helicopter-flights/
Excerpt: "The Brooklyn Heights Association also said at the time that 80 percent of the activity at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport is non-essential. Sightseeing and other flights cause a constant din on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, in Brooklyn Bridge Park and over Governors Island, the group said. The fervent opposition unites residents of Brooklyn waterfront areas such as Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg and Greenpoint with Manhattan residents whose homes and offices are along the flight paths of the tourist helicopter."
If you missed our last newsletter, here are several more important new articles (excerpts below, but please read these articles in their entirety when you can, and share on social media):
Regarding NYC Councilmember Paul Vallone’s New Helicopter Legislation:
https://qns.com/2021/02/queens-lawmaker-introduces-legislation-to-mitigate-helicopter-noise-negative-environmental-effects/
"Grassroots nonprofit organization Stop the Chop, which advocates for a ban on all nonessential helicopters over New York, praised Vallone’s legislation as an essential first step."
“'The introduction of this legislation is an excellent first step. We applaud all our local and federal elected officials working to regulate this industry that degrades the quality of life for millions in the New York Metro area, increases the level of carbon emissions in our environment, and caters to a privileged few at the expense of everyday New Yorkers,” said the nonprofit.'"
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/02/23/tuesdays-headlines-helicopter-misery-edition/
https://www.gothamgazette.com/opinion/10052-save-waterfronts-open-skies-new-york-new-jersey-helicopters
"While Mayor de Blasio has done nothing to ameliorate the helicopter onslaught, Stop the Chop and other activists intend to make the industry an important issue in the crowded 2021 mayoral race to succeed the term-limited de Blasio. Several candidates have been quick to designate climate change as a key issue, and of course a safe one, but none has yet said a word about helicopters. Why do we tolerate hundreds of aging, rattling, tour helicopters—flying for the most trivial of reasons—to burn fuel and produce substantial CO2 emissions while hovering noisily over our waterfront, parks, and landmarks?"
Here are recent articles about our opposition to the Blade commuter expansion plan, in addition to our opposition to the tourist helicopters:
https://www.westsiderag.com/2021/03/02/as-commuter-copter-service-gets-set-to-start-up-the-helicopter-highway-over-the-uws-could-get-more-crowded
"Blade’s commuter helicopter plans face pushback from people who have grown tired of the buzz, believing the service promotes the industry and its wealthy clients over the peace of mind of average New Yorkers. Melissa Elstein and Andrew Rosenthal are on the board of Stop the Chop, a tax-exempt organization that aims to reduce the noise and environmental pollution of helicopters over the city. In an interview, they referred to the Upper West Side as a “helicopter highway,” where the noise is oppressive for residents. “For the person on the ground this [expanded helicopter routes] will affect them mentally and physically, and in terms of environmental impact this always affects poorer communities more heavily. There’s no way to get to the Westchester airport without flying over peoples homes…For the average person during an economic downturn, commuting by helicopter just isn’t an option,” Elstein explained during a phone interview. “Millions of New Yorkers are suffering for the convenience of the .1%.”
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If you missed the Feb. 17 Hearing on Council Member Paul Vallone's new helicopter bills, you can view the 2-hour hearing via this link:
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=837525&GUID=92047FD9-6144-4EB6-A921-7CE8E0B0E83B&Options=ID|Text|&Search=helicopter
It is worth viewing!
Stay tuned for future organizing events with Stop the Chop NY/NJ! The helicopter issue will only get much worse if the industry has its way, especially with Spring & Summer approaching, and the pandemic ending. We must continue to grow our grassroots coalition to not only stop this industry from expanding but to ban the nonessential helicopters over our airspace completely. Please help us grow our community-based movement by sharing our information with your neighbors, help us flyer, sign our petition, follow us on social media, donate, log helicopter complaints to 311 and your electeds, and educate the 2021 candidates for Mayor, Comptroller, Borough Presidents, and City Council about our "Stop the Chop" mission!
Please email us at info@stopthechopnynj.org with any questions or ideas, and if you want to volunteer with Stop the Chop!
Thanks from The Stop the Chop NY/NJ Board