The New York City Council this week passed legislation regulating certain helicopter flights, two weeks after a tourist flight crashed, killing six people. Sponsored by Council Member Amanda Farías, Intro 26-A prohibits helicopters that do not meet stringent federal noise standards from operating for non-essential purposes out of city-owned heliports. The ban would take effect in 2029.
The bill aims to reduce the excessive noise produced by helicopters; there has been a 2,329 percent increase in noise complaints over the past five years, according to the City Council. Exposure to loud noise can be associated with high blood pressure, impaired psychological and cognitive functions, and poorer long-term memory.
Under the legislation, tourism and commuter helicopters that do not meet the most stringent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noise standards will not be allowed to operate from East 34th Street and Wall Street heliports starting at the end of 2029. Helicopters for public safety, law enforcement, news coverage, and film work would be exempt.
The bill also requires the city’s Economic Development Corporation to report on the percentage of flights at these two heliports that do not currently meet the noise standards.
According to the Daily News, the bill’s 2029 expected start is to give time for the industry to adapt and for the city to update its contracts with heliport operators.
“Intro 26 is a bold step toward a healthier, quieter, and more equitable city,” Farías said. “For far too long, non-essential helicopter flights have disrupted daily life and endangered the well-being of New Yorkers. This bill uses the City’s authority over our heliports to phase out the noisiest, most outdated aircraft, while making space for safer, cleaner, electric aviation.”
Resoultions paired with the bill would establish a noise tax on non-essential helicopter and seaplane flights in cities with a population of one million or more, prohibit non-essential flight operations at municipal heliports and Hudson River Park, and call on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ban all non-essential helicopter travel, including tourist and chartered helicopter flights over New York City.
“Helicopter flights in New York City largely cater to a small slice of tourists and a cadre of elite travelers using them as unregulated charter flights to airports and weekend destinations out east,” Council Member Gale Brewer, who sponsored two resolutions related to the bill, said.
“I have been advocating for decades to ban takeoffs and landings of all non-essential helicopters at city heliports. Non-essential helicopters in the densest urban area in the nation are dangerous, noisy, disruptive, and bad for air quality.”
Farías first introduced 26-A in 2024, but this month’s helicopter crash renewed the push to get the bill passed. The legislation next heads to Mayor Eric Adams’ desk.
On April 10, a sightseeing helicopter with New York Helicopter Tours took off from the Wall Street heliport at 2:59 p.m. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the aircraft lost control after turning at the George Washington Bridge, broke apart midair, and plunged into the Hudson River at roughly 3:15 p.m.
All passengers aboard died, including a couple from Spain, Agustín Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children, ages 4, 8, and 11. The pilot, U.S. Navy veteran Seankese Johnson, was also killed.
Following the tragedy, the FAA shut down New York Helicopter Tours. As CNN reported, the suspension of the air carrier certificate came after an employee at the company who voluntarily agreed to stop flights was fired. An investigation into the cause of the crash remains underway.
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