Helo Holdings, better known as HHI Heliport at 165 Western Road in Kearny, will head to municipal court over the enforcement of a zoning use permit on Thursday, February 5th at 10:30 a.m.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
Norrice Raymaker, of the Safe Skies Coalition, praised Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and the county commissioners for previously approving resolutions in support of state and federal legislation seeking to reign in non-essential helicopter traffic.
She said the Safe Skies Coalition was a part of Stop The Chop NY NJ, which is a non-profit dedicated to eliminating what she described as “relentless” non-essential helicopter traffic in the area that is “detrimentally” impacting residents’ safety and the quality of life.
“In our efforts, we have learned that while the FAA controls helicopters in the air, we can use zoning to exert control over where heliports and helipads are located and how these are used. Zoning is our most powerful tool,” she declared at last week’s meeting.
“Holding HHI to its permitted use is especially critical now because Mayor Mamdani of Manhattan has said that he intends to close two heliports in New York City. And those displaced tourist helicopter industry will likely seek to move their operations to New Jersey.”
Guy and U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) applauded Kearny, under the direction of Mayor Carol Jean Doyle, for issuing a zoning violation to HHI Heliport back in September, as HCV first reported.
Back at the commissioners meeting, Raymaker also asked the county and other neighboring municipalities to use zoning tools to prevent more heliports and/or operators from opening.
“We respectfully request that each municipality in Hudson County use the zoning to protect their communities to the best of their ability,” she concluded.
“We also ask that you stand by Kearny as it litigates the zoning permit violations at HHI … We are confident that by standing together across all levels of government, we will solve this problem.”
Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) noted that the before this fight even began, the board passed a resolution some 12 years ago raising concerns over the facility.
“This board took an action before that facility ever opened, because I was a sponsor of the resolution expressing concern and asking that it not happen,” he recalled.
Board Chair Anthony Romano (D-5) echoed his support for curbing non-essential helicopter traffic, and according to Doyle, who is also the secretary for the commissioners, a link to view the hearing virtually will be shared with the commissioners on Thursday.
While activists and legislators alike have been looking to ban tourist helicopter operations in Hudson County for over a decade, the movement sprung to life again after a fatal crash in the Hudson River last April.
The crash, which occurred near the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, claimed six lives after the New York Helicopter Tours – which has since ceased operations – aircraft started “falling apart” in midair and did a nosedive into the water below.
By May, Doyle and Guy had met with HHI Heliport’s CEO Jeff Hyman to discuss quality of life issues relating to the helicopter activity at the facility, after resident concerns flooded online on social media and in person at municipal government meetings.
After the meeting, in June, Hyman pledged to reduce helicopter flights working with Guy and the county while doing so.
However, by July, nothing had progressed, prompting Guy and Menendez to doube down in search for a resolve more than three months after the fatal helicopter tragedy in the river.
In September, things came to a head when it became clear that non-essential helicopter traffic was not slowing down out of the facility and the aforementioned violation was issued.
The violation notice says that a failure to comply with the cited zoning resolution could necessitate resubmitting an application for approval.
Furhermore, in November, Menendez and U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) introduced the “Communities Before Air Tourism Act” to regulate certain helicopter flights to consult with communities under air-tour routes before entering into Air Tour Management voluntary agreements with helicopter operators.
That followed the introduction of other Menendez-sponsored bills including the Improving Helicopter Safety Act, which would ban all non-essential helicopter traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty, and the “Protecting Communities from Helicopter Noise Act.”
That would direct the FAA to study helicopter noise within a 15-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty and examine potential solutions in diverting helicopters away from residential and recreational areas.
That same month, a state bill sponsored by state Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) to tax nonessential helicopter flights and allot their revenue to NJ Transit cleared the New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee.
Under Bill S-4639, a tourist flight is defined as a flight on a non-essential helicopter or seaplane that operates for the purpose of providing sightseeing tours to patrons in areas like the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island, amounting to $100 per seat or $400 per flight – whichever is greater.
