January 26, 2011: Vol. 34, No. 4

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January 26, 2011 / Brooklyn news / Red Hook

Hell–icopter! Red Hook fighting chopper noise

By Gary Buiso

The Brooklyn Paper

Not in my sky!

Red Hook residents are furious at increased helicopter traffic over the long-put-upon neighborhood — a result of the choppers being diverted from tonier Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO.

“They look at our neighborhood and say, ‘What can we do here next?’ ” said Sue Peebles, a Beard Street resident.

The noisy situation is collateral damage from the 2009 closure of a heliport on Manhattan’s West Side. That shutdown forced more air traffic to a Lower Manhattan location, filling the skies over Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO with choppers.

After critics in those neighborhoods demand an amended flight plan, the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees helicopter traffic, negotiated a deal with sightseeing companies last April to reduce about 30 percent of flights from that Lower Manhattan helipad.

But the city is now allowing choppers to fly along the coast of Red Hook so they can avoid flying over Governors Island — which is uninhabited but has a school and other cultural attractions.

Residents say they’re observing up to five more chopper passes each day, double previous observations.

“It disturbs our baby during nap time, and our dogs go nuts with the noise,” said Coffey Street resident Gordon Terry.

The city contends the route does not include any residential areas, but did not provide a flight path at press time.

“We are actively working to minimize the impact of helicopter noise on Brooklyn residents by making sure that helicopters stay within the route,” said Julie Wood, a development corporation spokeswoman.

That’s not good enough for residents such as Peebles, who said the waterfront neighborhood is once again getting the shaft, as it has been besieged by land (in the form of truck traffic and hazardous roadways), sea (thanks to toxic fumes belched out by cruise ships), and now air from helicopters.

“At first, I thought the cops were looking for someone who committed a crime,” she said. “But these are much more ubiquitous.”

←Coney Island: New Cyclone operator pledges major rehab

→Williamsburg: Couple facing jail for creating a fetid feline prison in Williamsburg

Reader Feedback

bklyn native from Brighton says:

boo hoo... I live on the water in Brighton Beach, and we have long been subjected to the police helicopters that take the shore line to and from Floyd Bennet Field. This entire city is noisy, deal with it...

Jan. 26, 2011, 10:24 am

eddieb from southbrooklyn says:

the whiny white people of red hook strike again!!! gordon terry is a hipster dufus jackass that should just move to bainbridge island, WA or portland,OR and take the rest of the artsy fartsy set with you.

Jan. 26, 2011, 10:59 am

AC from Wallabout says:

Good God - is there anything the people of Red Hook don't complain about?

Jan. 26, 2011, 3:39 pm

Dave from Clinton Hill says:

I live a half block from the BQE, do you want to hear some real noise? Come on up my way. It's NYC folks, deal w it

Jan. 26, 2011, 4:49 pm

Mary from Redhook says:

i can't hear because of the noise and I can't see because I've gone blind squinting over the small font that the Brooklyn Paper uses on their web site

Jan. 26, 2011, 6:02 pm

Joe from Columbia Waterfront says:

I didn't know Phyllis from the office lived in the neighborhood

Jan. 26, 2011, 6:05 pm

JONB from RED HOOK says:

why don't you just spend more time at your shelter island home? I'm sure it's very quiet this time of year.

Jan. 26, 2011, 7:43 pm

Sid from Boerum Hill says:

Mary from Redhook you can increase the size on any website by holding down the ctrl key(or apple key on a Apple computer) and using the scroll on your mouse or hitting the plus or minus key on your key board to make larger or smaller any type.

and btw Red Hook seems to complain about everything....

Jan. 26, 2011, 9:22 pm

John from GC says:

I agree, we need to have a better solution for this nuisance.

For those who say "get over it" or "I already live with that noise", you are a bunch of morons that need to grow up: humanity tends to the better, not the inverse.

Oh yeah "I live next to a landfill, so it's fine for YOU to live next to a landfill"...

Some people are so stupid, egocentric, that's actually scary to hear such comments from "fellow human beings".

Jan. 26, 2011, 9:36 pm

jonb from red hook says:

dear john fromGC,

besides fairway and ikea, have you been to Red Hook? let's face it, red hook has much bigger fish to fry than helicopter noise (e.g. unemployment, horrible bus service & woefully under-performing schools) and I get pretty peeved when had a handful of well-to-do urban pioneers living in the little hipster hermitage known as the "back" hijack what limited political and media power red hook does have on crap issues like this one.

Jan. 27, 2011, 10:57 am

J.J.B. from Red Hook says:

When people in a neighborhood complain about their problems, that's a sign of a tight knit neighborhood. That's what makes a nabe. Those that live with their problems would do well to follow the examples of these Red Hookers for trying to better the place they live in. You who object to red Hook residents complaining come across like a bunch of jealous little kids. Red Hook has always for many years been on the short end of anything the city dealt out. They know what it is to be shortchanged and overlooked and bypassed when the goods are being passed out. That's how they developed the fighting spirit they now have. You who live with the shortcomings of your own location wherever it may be located will find it will get worse before it gets better because of your do nothing attitude. Don't knock Red Hook residents, imitate them for a better all around new York City for all of us.....

April 27, 2011, 10:09 pm

J.J.B. from Red Hook says:

Gary Buiso, nice article, Ididn't know you went to the Brooklyn Paper. You remember me? The Historian. Keep up the good work.....

April 27, 2011, 10:12 pm

Marco from Red Hook says:

@eddieb from south brooklyn:
You sound like a real class act. Verrrry classy.

@AC from Wallabout
Clearly YOU are a "sheeple."

@Dave from Clinton Hill:
Well when you move into a place near the BQE, you can EXPECT that awful noise!

@john from GC:
i agree - many people are so stupid & ignorant. they also thrive under the anonymity of their remarks.

April 28, 2011, 8:05 am

Red Hook from Red Hook Brooklyn says:

Thanks for the coverage Gary Buiso!
It is like the Apocolypse here in Red Hook...we'll march onward against these noise polluters.

http://facebook.com/redhookbrooklyn

April 28, 2011, 8:06 am

black night from good Neighborhood says:

I need a air force fighting choopers.

May 28, 2011, 10:41 pm

Jef from BathBeach says:

I am a fairly new person that was introduced to Red Hook a few summers ago on my bicycle, fell in love with the area, we go there to ride bikes, stroll around, shop at the stores...People in Red Hook, smile, say hello.....it is a very welcoming neighborhood!!!

We were in Valentino Park today, May 31, the choppers started 2 seconds after 12p, non stop, freaking annoying, took away the tranquality of the park. It was constant, we couldnt stand it no more, and went home.

They really should just abolish all the tourist flights over the NY harbor area......didnt we learn anything from 9/11....

we do not need tourists flying all over our skies and disrupting the daily lives of it's inhabitants....

The choppers are annoying..........teribly annoying

May 30, 2011, 8:33 pm

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