New website collects complaints about helicopter noise

If you hear something, say something.

That was the message from State Assemb. Marc Alessi Monday as he launched a website where Long Island residents can log in and register their complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration about the din of helicopters as they chopper back and forth along the North Shore on their way from New York City and the Hamptons.

The FAA had been considering permanent regulations to deal with helicopter noise but last week it put off adopting the rules because of nearly 1,000 public comments, which the FAA is required to review.

The rules, which are voluntary, would require pilots to fly over water when possible, maintain a height of at least 2,500 feet and, when possible, find routes over the least populated areas as they shuttle passengers.

With a Shoreham beach as a backdrop, Alessi (D-Shoreham) held a news conference to launch the new website - quietskiesli.com.

Alessi said the hope is that by identifying the time and place where residents hear a helicopter, officials can use that information, compare it to a helicopter's transponder and identify which specific aircraft is the culprit.

He added that 20 or 30 complaints could be linked to a single pilot as he or she flies over the region, and all the complaints can be sent to the FAA. "About 80 percent of the flights are fine . . . it's the ones that you see that aren't," Alessi said. "People feel powerless."

The legislator estimated that helicopter pilots who fly lower and closer to shore do it to shave 10 or 15 minutes off their flight time. "Gas and time cost money," he said.

And, he added, there seem to be a lot of pilots who take that shortcut. "We must have had 10 of them fly over when I held my press conference," Alessi said Monday.

The state legislator said he sympathizes with residents who complain about the seasonal increase of helicopter noise.

"Sitting in my back yard, I see helicopters overhead. I feel powerless myself, and I'm an elected official," he said. "We want to do what we can to hold the FAA accountable. Until their rules are in full effect, this will give us a great amount of information. And, information is power for us."

On Friday, Suffolk County Legis. Ed Romaine demanded that helicopters flying over Long Island remain at least a mile off shore, and stay at an altitude of at least 3,000 feet. He said helicopters headed to East Hampton's town airport should loop around Orient Point.

In June, Alessi, Romaine and State Sen. Kenneth P. LaValle Jr. jointly asked the FAA to increase the helicopter flight limit to a minimum of 3,000 feet, stay a minimum of a mile off shore, and develop multiple crossover points so that no single Long Island community would face the full impact of helicopter traffic going across the island.

Under both the voluntary and mandatory guidelines, pilots are permitted to ignore the route restrictions if they feel they impose a safety risk or if their destination cannot be reached by following the flight path laid out in the regulations.

Using the new website

To file a noise complaint on the new QuietskiesLI.com, people will have to give their name, address and phone number on a form which is automatically sent to the FAA. In addition, they should supply, to the best of their ability:

• The time and date of the incident.

The information, according to Assemb. Marc Alessi, will help the FAA fully investigate the noise complaint and hold the helicopter operator accountable for any violations.