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Wading River residents press Riverhead board on helicopter noise; officials promise follow-up
Summary
Residents described repeated low-altitude helicopter flights over Wading River and asked the town to reconvene a helicopter task force and press the FAA for enforcement. Officials said they will follow up and noted some flights are police- or emergency-related.
Residents of Wading River and other North Fork neighborhoods used the July 7 Riverhead Town Board meeting to press the town on repeated helicopter flights over residential areas.
"Just this weekend on July 5 at 10:58 a.m., I had a helicopter over my house at 800 feet," Patricia Berry of Wading River told the board. She said the number of complaints logged with the local airport totaled 567 between January and April and urged the town to reconvene a helicopter task force and press federal agencies to uphold the North Shore route and altitude guidance.
Town officials acknowledged the complaints and described several contributing factors. A board liaison to the helicopter task force (S4) said increased use of the Suffolk County police aviation unit, air ambulance operations supporting Stony Brook Hospital, and weather-driven visual-navigation decisions can produce more flights over land. The liaison and other officials said they would reconvene the task force, reach out to federal and regional partners, and follow up with residents.
Residents and local volunteers urged that the town update its online helicopter-noise complaint form and continue to document flights; town staff confirmed they had asked IT to update that page. One resident described using publicly available tracking tools (ADSB) to identify flights and offered to help coordinate further outreach.
The board did not adopt new rules at the meeting; instead, members pledged to reconvene the task force and pursue additional coordination with state and federal authorities.
The next steps the board described were reconvening the helicopter task force, updating complaint and reporting information on the town website, and contacting federal representatives and regional aviation stakeholders to press for compliance with mandatory route guidance.
