For much of the year North Fork residents quietly endure a constant parade of stretch limousines, vans and busloads full of people heading for the wineries, but when a local vineyard advertised an event which would fly visitors from Manhattan out to Mattituck by helicopter, they objected vehemently.
At a Southold Town Board work session Tuesday morning, Supervisor Scott Russell said that he’d received numerous emails complaining about a proposed wine tasting event at Shinn Vineyard in Mattituck, which would fly a group of people from Manhattan to the Mattituck Airport and then shuttle them to the winery.
Russell immediately contacted a representative from Mattituck Airport and was told that they had already reached out to BLADE, the helicopter company, to inform them that they would not be permitted to land at the airport.
Despite this, the listing remained on the BLADE website and when asked whether the trip, which cost $690 round-trip, was cancelled, a representative from BLADE said “We’re still trying to figure that out.” However, they deleted the listing from their website immediately after the phone interview. Shinn Vineyard also confirmed that the event was canceled.
Russell said that they would review the code to see what’s permitted and town attorney Bill Duffy added that he didn’t believe it was allowed under current code.
“It’s a land use issue,” said Councilman Bob Ghosio. “And we just can’t let it happen. We have enough with helicopter noise.”
Russell said that the town needed to take any action necessary to make sure that no helicopter lands on any farmland in Southold Town “unless it’s a crop duster.”
Russell said he would encourage local businesses not to do business with companies like BLADE.
“The unmitigated gall of a west end outfit trying to pair with local business to try and bring helicopters into Southold! Frankly I’m going to ask every business in Southold, whether you’re a winery or whatever you are, not to do business with these people. That is not being respectful or considerate of the community that surrounds you, that supports you every day.”
Editor’s note: This story was edited post-publication to amend a statement by Supervisor Russell. When Russell reached out to Mattituck Airport he was told that the airport had already denied BLADE’s request to land there.
