With summer approaching, North Fork residents are girding themselves for the annual seasonal uptick in Hamptons-bound helicopter traffic overhead.
The Eastern Region Helicopter Council’s proposed summer route suggests three north-south flight paths traversing the North Fork for helicopters heading to East Hampton airport. One of those paths crosses the causeway, and that has East Marion residents worried.
Supervisor Scott Russell, a guest speaker at yesterday’s annual meeting of the East Marion Community Association, urged the approximately 50 residents at the meeting to complain to federal legislators — and complain often and loud.
Residents should demand the implementation of alternate routes, Russell said. Helicopters should either be required to take the south shore route from New York City to East Hampton or, if they take the North Shore route, be required to fly over water out past Plum Island and cross Gardiners Bay to get to the airport.
Both alternatives have been ignored, Russell said. Pilots want to take the route they deem quickest and shortest because it saves them time and money. They don’t want to take the south shore route because they’d have to be handled by JFK airport traffic control and may have to wait a few minutes, he said.
The south shore route also has the further complication of the noisy aircraft crossing over some of the wealthiest and most exclusive residential areas of the Hamptons, which Russell said would not sit well with residents there.
“If they’re going to take a complaint, they’d rather take if from small town supervisor Scott Russell than from Martha Stewart,” he told residents.
The supervisor reiterated his belief that there’s strength in numbers and urged residents to back up complaints he’s been making and will continue to make.
“We need to raise holy hell, quite frankly,” Russell said.
Lou Wirtz said he fills out the airport’s online complaint form every day.
“Just use the web as much as you can,” Wirtz said.
East Marion Community Association has set up an email address for complaints as well: helicopter@emca.us.
“We need you to keep a careful log,” Russell told the group so that complaints can be backed up with as much data as possible. “We’re going to need to call Schumer, Zeldin and Gillibrand. They are the only ones that can talk to the Eastern Region Helicopter Council.”
Russell said there is a lot of misunderstanding about the mandatory north shore route, which requires helicopters to maintain a minimum altitude of 2,500 feet and fly over the L.I. Sound.
“The mandatory route ends at Iron Pier,” Russell said. “East of Iron Pier, all bets are off.”
Pilots can cross the North Fork anywhere they want, in their discretion, he said. “And there is no minimum altitude. “They can fly as low as they want, and they do,” he said. The helicopter council’s proposed route is only a suggestion.
“The mandatory North Shore route only helped the people who live in Manhasset and Floral Park,” Russell said. “It didn’t do anything for the North Fork.”
As he has done in the past, Russell praised the East Hampton Town Board for its recent actions, declining financial assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration which would limit the town’s control over the airport and implementing measures, including a curfew, aimed at reducing helicopter traffic and noise.
“The current East Hampton board has shown more courage than any other prior board,” Russell said.
Residents at the meeting yesterday questioned the supervisor about other topics of local concern, including short-term rentals, storage of unregistered vehicles on residential properties and seasonal transient rentals that have turned into year-round, long-term rental properties.
Violators of the town’s short-term rental law are on the town’s radar, the supervisor said. Southold has hired an additional code enforcement officer and notices have been sent to about 45 property owners who are advertising homes for rent in violation of the short-term rental law.
“We’re very confident our law was fair and is legally defensible,” Russell said. “It’s going to be honored and enforced.”
The community association yesterday also heard presentations from Southold Town’s tick committee and housing advisory committee.
Bob DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, also spoke to the group, addressing water quality issues and urging residents to support an extension of the community preservation fund on the ballot in November.
DeLuca also spoke about the importance of preserving Plum Island. A bill sponsored by Rep Lee Zeldin, which would suspend federal efforts to sell the island to the highest bidder, will be voted on this week in the House of Representatives, DeLuca said.
Restrictive zoning enacted by Southold Town is “a regulatory backdrop,” DeLuca said, “but a well-funded developer can punish the town” with costly litigation.
Plum Island, in the public domain since 1899, is largely untouched and is today a rare and important habitat for countless species.
“It is also the largest seal haul-out south of Maine,” DeLuca said.
DeLuca praised the East Marion Community Association as a shining example of what a civic association should be: engaged, informed, active and successful.
The group yesterday elected a new president, Anne Murray. Outgoing president Robin Imandt, was elected secretary. Kaye Kanev continues as treasurer. It also elected one new director, Candi Harper, who joins Ruth Ann Bramson, Grace Griffin, Stan Koubek, Victor Neisch, Ann Sande, Robin Simmen and Bill Stamatis.
Correction: This article originally misstated the flight path advocated by Supervisor Scott Russell. He wants the helicopter route to extend east beyond Plum Island, not Orient Point.
