Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy this week signed off on a new law that seeks to reduce the amount of noise
created by low-flying helicopters traveling to and from the East End, even though county officials admit that the
new regulation might be unenforceable.
Sponsored by Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine, the new law attempts to crack down on helicopter pilots who
fly in a careless or reckless manner, or in a way that could endanger the lives or properties of others. More specifically,
the legislation is intended to target those helicopter pilots who fly too low, disturbing homeowners whose properties
are in the flight patterns, while transporting commuters to and from the Hamptons throughout the summer. Pilots
who violate the county law could face either a $1,000 fine or up to a year in prison, according to the legislation.
But Suffolk County Executive Spokesman Dan Aug emphasized that even though Mr. Levy signed the bill, it might never
be enforced because the Federal Aviation Administration controls and monitors the county’s airspace.
“He signed the bill, but he’s cautioning people to not get a false sense of hope in respect to enforcement powers,”
Mr. Aug said. “It is a matter that may transcend the county.
“He agrees with the spirit of the legislation but doesn’t believe the legislation gives the county enforcement
powers,” he continued.
Jim Peters, a spokesman for the FAA, explained that while his office manages the county’s airspace, it does not
currently have any altitude restrictions targeting helicopters.
“The FAA has no set altitudes for helicopters,” Mr. Peters said. “For helicopters, because of the way they operate,
there is no pre-described altitude, unlike fixed-wing or jet aircraft.”
Mr. Levy signed the bill on Friday, June 26, though it will take about a month for it to be officially recorded
as New York State law, explained Bill Faulk, Mr. Romaine’s spokesman. The law will be enforceable once the New
York State Department of State files the law, he explained.
Still, there are many unanswered questions regarding how the new law will be enforced by the county. It is the
same issue that members of the Suffolk County Legislature had been wrestling with almost since the beginning of
the debating process nearly two years ago.
“There are some decisions that need to be made with enforcement,” Mr. Aug said, declining to offer additional details.
Mr. Faulk previously explained that the bill was drafted in order to allow Mr. Levy wide latitude in deciding how
it would be enforced. One suggestion is for the county to channel all complaints made about reckless helicopter
pilots through 852-COPS, a non-emergency Suffolk County Police phone number. Information recorded there could then
be forwarded to either Suffolk County Police Department or the county attorney’s office, Mr. Faulk explained.
He added that Mr. Romaine intends to press Mr. Levy to make sure that the new law is enforced. “We hope it’s not
just signed into law and left alone,” Mr. Faulk said. “We do want to see enforcement.”
Another bill drafted by Mr. Romaine that sought to regulate helicopter traffic was shot down by the Suffolk County
Legislature in December. That bill sought to establish a minimum cruising altitude of 2,500 feet for helicopters
throughout Suffolk County. The bill was rejected because Suffolk County cannot regulate its airspace.
The approved law differs from the earlier version of the bill in that it seeks to regulate the behavior of pilots
and not the altitude at which they are flying, according to Mr. Romaine.
Mr. Peters declined to comment extensively on the new county law. Instead, he referred to a letter that the FAA
had sent to U.S. Representative Tim Bishop of Southampton in late April.
The letter states that the county law is preempted by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, which created the FAA.
The letter also lists specific court cases that show that the FAA has exclusive responsibility for managing the
airspace over the entire country.
“The FAA is the sole manager of airspace system,” Mr. Peters said. “That’s all we can say.”
Mr. Romaine has been working on different versions of the bill, including the one rejected by the Suffolk County
Legislature, for about two years. The new law seeks to give teeth to the county’s “Fly Neighborly Agreement,” a
voluntary noise abatement program instituted by the Noise Abatement Subcommittee of the Francis S. Gabreski Airport
Community Advisory Board nearly three years ago. Suffolk County owns the Westhampton airport.
Gail Clyma, a member of the Coalition Against Airport Pollution who lives in Westhampton, said she is very happy
that Mr. Levy signed the law. “I hope that this does something about the number of helicopters flying over residential
areas in violation of the voluntary noise abatement procedure,” she said.
Coalition Against Airport Pollution