Heights Local To Mayor Bloomberg: ‘Enough Wit Da Helicopter Noise!’

By on December 14, 2012 10:36 am in brooklyn bridge park, Brooklyn Heights, War On Fun

At Thursday’s public celebration of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 opening, NYC Mayor Bloomberg took questions from press—and area residents. One local took the opportunity to raise the issue of Brooklyn Heights’ perpetual helicopter noise from tourist whirlybirds. Gothamist reports that Bloomberg acknowledged that helicopters taking off from lower Manhattan do fly within the vicinity of Brooklyn Heights—mind youse, as two copters interrupted the festivities by proving the gadfly’s point.

Bloomie asked the guy what solution he would propose: “Why can’t you move them somewhere else?” Mayor Crusty asked what neighborhoods the choppers should fly over. Response: “New Jersey.” Bloomberg added that NYC tourists have little interest in touring Jersey… and that was that…

Comments on Gothamist are even more entertaining, with one noting,”Only a Brooklyn Heights douchebag would think a New York City mayor would have any jurisdiction over the state of New Jersey.” Another sided with deemed DB, sort of: “It’s all about the tourists, right Mayor Mike? ‘You wanna save humanity, but it’s people that you just can’t stand.’That said, I wish my neighbors would represent our neighborhood better.”

Calling State Sen. Daniel Squadron… come in, please… (Photo: Gothamist)

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  • Mr. Crusty

    I’ll inform the military of your concerns.

  • David on Middagh

    “the sense of entitlement some residents display here annoys the crap out of me”

    A loud helicopter near your building is like a noise gun. Correction: a noise gattling gun.

    I would first eliminate tourist and commuter flights. If a problem remained, I’d eliminate news and traffic flights. If there were still complaints, I’d kill police and secret service flights. (Do we really need them? Really?) If there was still a problem after that, I would ask, what are those, military choppers? What are doing over a civilian area?

    Most helicopters don’t save lives. Some are constructed to end them.

  • Knight

    You’re right, David. I don’t consider wanting to be able to hear my TV with the parlor windows closed or wanting to be able to talk on my mobile without pausing for minutes at a time to be a “sense of entitlement”.

    If these helicopters have a noble purpose, I willingly accept their noise. Such birds fly infrequently. If you stop the tourist helicopters, though, the tourists will take more Circle Line cruises, contribute just as much to the NYC economy, and go home just as happy.

    I’ve taken several cruises on the River Thames, enjoyed the views of Big Ben, and never felt the need to get into Her Majesty’s air space, Parliament’s, or anyone else’s.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @David: “A loud helicopter near your building is like a noise gun. Correction: a noise gattling [sp] gun.”

    This thread was about curtailing tourist helicopters. Again no one has demonstrated that the problem is tourist helicopters as evidenced by prior comments. If someone could demonstrate, factually, that tourist helicopters are indeed “near your building” I would be more sympathetic to your complaint.

    You want to just end a business, put people out of work, and remove a NYC attraction all without evidence of the harm of said business.

    @knight: again my question, do you know for certain that the noise causing you to not be able to talk on your phone to be caused by tourist helicopters? If so they would be in violation of the prohibitions of flying over BH already in place and that could and should be dealt with quite forcefully. But once again no one seems to be quite sure.

    Can you see my reluctance to want to destroy a business based on such flimsy anecdotal evidence?

  • Mr. Crusty

    @David of Middaugh:”would first eliminate tourist and commuter flights. If a problem remained, I’d eliminate news and traffic flights. If there were still complaints, I’d kill police and secret service flights. (Do we really need them? Really?) If there was still a problem after that, I would ask, what are those, military choppers? What are doing over a civilian area?”

    If that statement isn’t emblematic of the sense of entitlement I mentioned then I don’t know what is. David’s personal requirement for absolute quiet apparently is far more important than the needs of the police, secret service and the military. Isn’t he special?

  • JWP

    I live in One Brooklyn Bridge Park and the amount of tourist helicopter traffic on summer weekends is endless. I would have much less of a problem with these helicopters if they would stay further away from the Heights, but some of them make a habit of flying over the end of Pier 5 which creates quite a bit of noise for those who live in the building or frequent the park. It just doesn’t seem necessary for these tourist helicopters to fly over the park in order to get to and from the Financial District Helicopter pad.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @JWP it would seem the OBBP building to be most at risk for tourist helicopter noise. But you did move into the building after the tourist helicopters were already operating exactly as they are doing now didn’t you? It reminds me of people moving near the airport and then complaining about the noise.

    You have some wonderful benefits by being so close to the river – great views, BBP in your backyard, etc but along with the good comes the bad which is the noise associated with that river (and an occasional flood) that you wanted to be next to.

  • David on Middagh

    Mr. C said: @David: “A loud helicopter near your building is like a noise gun. Correction: a noise gattling [sp] gun.”

    That’ll teach me to post at 1:30 A.M.–spelling goes out the window. And I should know how to spell “Gatling”; I grew up half a mile from a G.E. plant which made that sort of thing.

    BTW, you don’t win argument points by asking for specific examples of *tourist* chopper trouble, and then bashing the person who gives you one.

  • Heightssaver

    Until you have people like the BB Conservancy join the BHA in its fight against helicopters you will get nowhere. If people would attend the quarterly BB Park meetings & voice there concerns(at the library & St.Francis College) it would help. This comment thread while entertaining solves nothing. City noise is unavoidable & necessary(sirens, horns) but helicopters(& their noise) is not. It’s torture plain & simple. Mayor Bloomberg is simply prejudiced as far as helicopters are concerned. It’s a pity as he is it’s cause as well as its relief.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @Heightssaver: “it’s torture, plain and simple”

    And to think we had a debate about water-boarding in this country.

    @David ” I grew up half a mile from a G.E. plant which made that sort of thing.”

    Was it noisy? Did you try to get it closed after you moved next to the plant?

    Oh, I had to highlight your spelling error because normally you are impeccable with your gramma and spelling unlike many that post on here.

  • David on Middagh

    When this board implements a comment vote-to-hide option à la Amazon or YouTube, some of us (could be me!) might be surprised at the results.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Crusty, you sound manic. Did you take the wrong pills again?

  • Mr. Crusty

    Thanks for your concern Arch, but I am quite fine thank-you.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    I always thought it ironic that GE the “We Bring Good Things to Life” company also made Gatling guns.

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