Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and Kearny Mayor Carol Jean Doyle met with HHI Heliport CEO Jeff Hyman, who operates in town, last week over quality of life concerns regarding helicopter activity.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We had a productive meeting with CEO Jeff Hyman of HHI Heliport regarding grave concerns we and county residents have about increased low altitude helicopter activity. We agreed that there are items we could work to immediately address, while there are some issues that remain under the control of the Federal Aviation Administration,” Guy and Doyle said in a joint statement today.
“We are constantly hearing from people throughout the county, especially residents of Jersey City and Hoboken, whose lives are being disrupted by constant helicopter flights. Furthermore, Kearny has deep concerns about the facility’s hours of operation, which exceed what was originally represented.”
Located at 165 Western Road in Kearny, HHI Heliport is the largest operating heliport in the country since December 2010, according to their website. They list their hours of operation as 7 a.m. through 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Increased helicopter activity lead to Jersey City and Hoboken activists voicing their displeasure about the situation at the May 20th Kearny Town Council meeting.
Guy, also the chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), and Doyle, also the clerk for the county board of commissioners, said they plan to continue meeting with Hyman and their federal representatives about this matter.
Last month, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) seeking to ban non-essential helicopters in the wake of a fatal Hudson River crash that claimed six lives in April, which Guy came out in support of, as HCV first reported.
Doyle faced some flack on Reddit and social media last week over an email response to after Kelly Quinn, a Jersey City Heights resident, who reached out about helicopter concerns.
“I am very award [sic] of the situation but do not make demands to me, you are out of line. You have no right or authority to make any demands,” the mayor wrote on May 27th.
