Helicopter flights from Yonkers to Statue of Liberty proposed
Helicopter Flight Services proposes running three to five flights an hour from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The passengers are tourists from New York City who will either travel to the heliport by bus or train
A New York City tourism firm wants to build a heliport in southwest Yonkers to offer flights to the Statue of Liberty, while city officials are considering a ban.
Helicopter Flight Services Inc. is in contract to buy waterfront property at 70 Fernbrook St. along the Hudson River that lies in an industrial zone between the Domino Sugar refinery and the county's sewage treatment plant. The property currently is used by All County Bus for school bus parking and the helicopters would land and park on a barge that would be docked adjacent to the property.
"It was too busy at Wall Street and for safety and economic reasons, we're looking to move," Alex McIntosh of Helicopter Flight Services told residents of the Ludlow Park neighborhood during a community meeting Monday.
The company is proposing to operate three to five flights an hour from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Most of the passengers would be tourists from New York City who will either travel to the heliport by bus or Metro-North and then be picked up by a company van at the Ludlow Street Station.
Helicopter Flight Services is also considering building a ferry pier to deliver tourists. The company uses Bell 407 and Airbus EC130 helicopters.
Each flight would carry six or seven tourists and a typical 15-minute tour to the Statue of Liberty would cost around $169 per person, said McIntosh, whose company has not yet filed any applications to build the heliport.
Virtually all the 65 people who attended Monday's presentation appeared opposed to the proposal and many were verbally hostile to the company's representatives. The residents' complaints focused on noise and air pollution in a community that has long been plagued by odors from the sewage treatment plant.
"It doesn't benefit the local community in any way," said Ludlow Park resident Abi Wright. "And this is a result of being pushed out of Manhattan."
Earlier this year, New York City reached a deal with the helicopter tourism industry to cut the number of flights in half to reduce noise at the downtown Manhattan heliport at Pier 6. The deal will eventually eliminate 30,000 trips by the start of 2017 and there will be no Sunday flights.
The New York City deal was prompted by noise complaints from residents near Battery Park City and the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The helicopter companies argued that they generate $50 million a year in economic activity and employ about 200 people.
Heliports are permitted on Fernbrook Street with a special use permit from the City Council, which canceled a discussion on the topic at a Tuesday meeting. City officials are considering an ordinance that would ban heliports in Yonkers.
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