They can make up for the lost revenue by raising taxes, while campaigning on creating jobs.
Joined by a bi-state coalition of New York and New Jersey officials, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez called for a ban of Hudson River tourist helicopters Friday morning.
For the past 18 months, Hudson County residents have been trying to work with helicopter operators based in lower Manhattan, the state’s Dept. of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to limit the number of flights — and noise — along the river.
“We can’t have a sky full of helicopters,” the senator said. “There’s no consideration to the communities below their flight path.”
In the past year and a half, the NJDOT and FAA have told politicians they have “limited authority” to control the tourism helicopters, Menendez said.
Unlike an airport, there’s no limitation on the number of flights, Menendez said. “As long as you can lift up and go, you go.”
Menendez added that air traffic has grown from 100 flights to 600 flights a day above the Hudson River, and is on track to hit 1,000 per day.
“We all want tourism, but it can’t come at the expenses of residents who live here, said Robert Gottheim, district director for Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-10, of New York.
Menendez was also joined by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, North Bergen Mayor and State Senator Nicholas Sacco, West New York Mayor Felix Roque, Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Dracheff, and Mark Albeiz was a on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.