Thousands of nonessential flights create “helicopter hell” along Hudson River, including Hoboken

By Jennifer Mynard | July 7, 2025

Although New Jersey residents and New York residents have many feuds ranging from who has better pizza (New Jersey) to who has worse drivers (New York), they do agree that the helicopter issue has gotten out of control. For commuters and tourists, helicopter flights have become a popular mode of transportation. Approximately 30,000 tourist flights take off annually from the downtown heliport in NYC¹ in addition to New Jersey based airports such as HHI Heliports in Kearny which has hosted 7,933 nonessential flights so far in 2025². With no minimum height requirements and a maximum height of 2,000 feet, these low-flying helicopters are a source of ire and fear for people living beneath their paths. One of the major providers of these tours, HeliNY, is opening an “interactive showroom” on Hoboken’s Washington Street, showing that demand for these services continues to increase despite pushback from residents.

With few regulations restricting late-night and early-morning flights, paired with the low flight altitude, residents cite constant noise as a main concern. One Hoboken resident near the Stevens Institute Campus shared with us their experience saying “I didn’t choose a home near an airport, I didn’t expect to feel like the airport moved to me”. Due to the disruption of their legal right to “quiet enjoyment,” noise disruption when talking to clients via Zoom, and health concerns, they began looking into selling their Hoboken apartment to escape the oppressive sounds overhead. Even with their windows closed, holding a conversation is difficult. This resident kindly shared an audio recording of their experience, taken inside their home with the windows closed (see below). Another resident told us that the noise of helicopters “impacts sleeping, impacts relaxation . . . every helicopter that comes over drives me bonkers.”

Concerns regarding public health and safety have also increased due to a recent fatal helicopter accident. On April 10, 2025, a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, killing a family of five from Spain and the pilot³. The helicopter went down just 75 feet from the Jersey City waterfront and crashed due to unknown mechanical errors⁴. This is not the first time a tourist flight has crashed or had to make an emergency landing. Much of the doomed helicopter’s flight path was over residential areas in New Jersey, generating fears over future flights that may crash on land rather than overwater—potentially putting greater numbers at risk.

Apart from accidents, helicopter flights present other health dangers. Helicopters emit hundreds of pounds of CO₂ per hour, contribute to air pollution, disrupt vulnerable populations (like children), and reduce overall water and air quality in urban settings. These flights, through noise and physical presence, disrupt natural ecosystems. Many creatures other than humans call Hoboken their home and also suffer the effects of constant helicopters⁵. Due to these flights favoring routes along the Hudson River, the quality of the waterfront experience for residents, visitors, and wildlife is severely degraded. One resident complained “What’s the point of paying for a beautiful waterfront where kids can’t hear their parents call them and where they breathe fuel all day!”