(Long Island, NY) The following statement is from Michael Philbin, Chairman of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council:
“Tourism helicopters are a vital part of our local economy – generating more than $30M in direct economic benefits and creating hundreds of jobs, many of which are military veterans – as well as the city’s transportation and emergency response infrastructure. Most troubling is that banning tours from Manhattan will not stop air tours from flying in and around New York as that is federally regulated air space and the helicopters will simply fly to and from other venues in New York and New Jersey. Instead, all this bill will do is eliminate hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in direct revenue to New York City.
“For decades ERHC has worked with the elected officials and community leaders to reduce and eliminate impacts to the local communities and as a result there are actually very few noise complaints about tourism helicopters. We urge the City Council to reconsider this illogical and potentially devastating action.”
Eastern Region Helicopter Council (ERHC) is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1979 by local helicopter pilots. Since its inception, ERHC has always had an active community outreach program to address the concerns of residents relating to helicopter and heliport issues and was awarded the first ever Fly Neighborly Award by HAI. ERHC’s first priority always has been, and remains safety.
