The Road Through Hoboken

We're seeing stories like this with greater frequency... and it is concerning...

A proposed ordinance to regulate air traffic over Hoboken—a Hudson County, New Jersey city falling within the greater New York metropolitan area—has been axed from the agenda of the municipality’s august city council. Subject ordinance, which sought to ban all non-essential helicopter traffic from overflying the city, was to have been imminently voted upon by Hoboken councilmembers.

Had it passed into law, the proposed legislation would have constrained all “non-essential” helicopter flights to transit Hoboken via an aerial route corresponding to the New Jersey Transit railroads on the city’s southern border—all the while remaining at least one-hundred-feet from the Hudson River shore.

Furthermore, helicopters would have been prohibited from taking-off or landing within Hoboken’s city limits. Nor would they have been permitted to take on or drop off passengers or cargo—excepting under emergency circumstances. Violations of the tabled ordinance were to have been punishable by prison terms of up to ninety-days, community service, or a maximum $2,000 fine.

Lawmakers representing local, state, and federal districts throughout New York’s boroughs and eastern New Jersey have outwardly sided with residents of several Hudson County communities who’ve alleged helicopters, particularly those operated by tourist companies, have adversely impacted their quality of life. To date, however, no legislation curbing or prohibiting such helicopter operations has been passed.

An FAA spokesman asserted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the only governmental body empowered to exercise jurisdiction over U.S. airspace, and that the statutory purview of municipalities—within the context of flight operations—extends no further than regulating take-offs and landings within their respective geographical boundaries.

In a 03 January 2023 email, Hoboken Councilman Joe Quintero advised local news agencies that the ordinance, which he sponsored, was to be pulled from the city council’s agenda on account of its not yet having passed through committee.

Hoboken city spokeswoman Marilyn Baer remarked: “Helicopter noise pollution is a detriment to the quality-of-life of many Hoboken residents and the city is exploring all avenues to curtail the problem, including contacting federal and state representatives to seek legislation to address the issue as well as the introductory ordinance as requested by members of the City Council.”

Ms. Baer also made public a letter from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Councilman Phil Cohen protesting a joint FAA - U.S. National Park Service draft agreement regarding commercial air tours around the Statue of Liberty and Governor’s Island. The letter argued that the agencies had failed to consider the negative impact their agreement would have on Hoboken residents, greater Hudson County, and Liberty State Park.

“We in Hoboken have seen the impact of redirected flight paths over our community,” the mayor and councilman wrote. “Non-essential helicopter flights coming in low over our community have caused significant disruption to Hoboken residents’ lives and adversely impacted the quiet enjoyment of our homes, gardens and local parks.”

Hoboken city officials declined to address the vacated ordinance’s legality or expound upon the means by which such a nebulous statute was to have been enforced. Notions the likes of essential and non-essential are largely subjective and famously resistant to codification.

Contrite, perhaps, in the baleful blasts of the FAA’s brusque rebuke and territorial tenor, Councilman Quintero has publicly eschewed the topic of his ordinance’s future. Whether or not the measure is reworked or shelved outright remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Hoboken lacks the requisite numbers of horses and men to stand against DC/Oklahoma City in a battle for dominion over even a small parcel of America’s national airspace system.

FMI: www.faa.gov