Photo credit: Alvaro Camacho
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
Legislation was introduced last week (H.R. 1071) in the House of Representatives by a group of representatives, including three New York members, Jerrold Nadler, Nydia Velazquez, and Daniel Goldman, that will direct the FAA to adopt National Transportation Board recommendations aimed to “increase safety and reduce community disruption of commercial air tours.” The Safe and Quiet Skies Act will also prohibit flights over national parks, cemeteries, wilderness areas and military installations.
Representative Ed Case noted that these commercial air tours have “disrupted whole communities with excessive noise and other impacts.”
Joining in this effort to restrict these helicopter flights are community groups who have spoken out vociferously for these restrictions. A strong community advocate, Stop the Chop NY/NJ, has thanked the New York representatives for their leadership in promoting this legislation.
This legislation is being introduced in Congress as it takes up the reauthorization of the FAA and we will hope that the Safe and Quiet Skies Act is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden.
