New Yorkers Sick of Hovering Helicopters Prompt Bid to Tax Noise

New Yorkers have had enough of helicopters and seaplanes hovering above the city, carrying wealthy residents and photo-seeking tourists, all while subjecting people on the ground to the cacophony of whirring propellers.

Democrats who control the state Senate—especially those who represent neighborhoods tormented by helicopter sounds—have heard them just as loudly. They’re proposing a novel idea to make operators pay for the privilege: a noise tax.

While the proposed tax would only bring in $10 million to $15 million annually in a state with a projected $252 billion budget, it’s become a priority for many New York City Democrats fed up with the noisy air traffic—and a target of the helicopter lobby.

The bill has received broad support in the Senate, which passed the legislation as a standalone item last year and included it this year in its budget resolution for the first time, which passed on March 13. It faces a murkier path in the Assembly, which didn’t advance the measure out of committee last year or include it in its spending proposal last week.

The Senate’s proposal would tax the noise emitted from non-essential helicopter and seaplane flights at a rate of $50 per seat or $200 per flight, whichever is greater. It includes exemptions for helicopters and seaplanes supporting construction maintenance, law enforcement activities, medical services, and news gathering and research. It also carves out aircrafts that are electric-powered and certified as a quiet aircraft, generally defined as creating no more than 10 decibels of noise.

“We’ve gotten complaints from people across demographics, from people across socioeconomic statuses,” said state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (D), the bill sponsor whose district includes waterfront districts in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. “It’s not just the high rises on the water. It’s people coming to our parks who want to enjoy our public spaces” and “are suddenly hearing nonstop helicopter and seaplane traffic.”

The revenue raised by the tax would go to the state Environmental Protection Fund. Gonzalez said it comes as the state braces for “massive disinvestment for environmental protection” under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Now more than ever we need to be raising revenue as a state but specifically revenue for that purpose,” she said.

Taxing a ‘Luxury Item’

The bill has the backing of advocacy group Stop The Chop NY/NJ, which is seeking a full ban on nonessential flights over the New York City metropolitan area and contends the issue has worsened in recent years with the rise of app-based services, such as Blade, that offer chartered flights to major airports.

“We do think it could help if it makes the flights less affordable,” said Melissa Elstein, the board chair and secretary of Stop the Chop. “It also rightly accounts for the negative externalities these flights are causing.”

But it’s facing opposition from Vertical Aviation International, a helicopter-industry group representing 1,100 aircraft companies. The group wrote in a February memo to bill sponsors that the proposal “contravenes well-established federal law” as the Federal Aviation Administration “holds the sole jurisdiction to regulate all aspects of aviation operations,” including noise-related standards. It warned the measure’s passage could “possibly result in expensive litigation.”

Josh Rousseau, the Northeast US Regional Representative for VAI, said the “hasty, poorly written, illegal legislation is not the answer in our judgment” to noise complaints and the industry has made voluntary routing changes to address community concerns. Gonzalez said there’s a precedence for these types of taxes and she believes it “would survive legal challenges.”

“We want to work with the state of New York, absolutely,” Rousseau said, adding the tax would “severely limit operations” and impact local jobs.

Still, Rousseau acknowledged that efforts to address noise complaints are like “whack-a-mole,” as a shift in routes benefiting one community can come at the expense of another. Generally, operators try to maximize the amount of flight time spent over water, he said.

Elstein said the East River and Hudson River “have been used as helicopter highways,” but the practice still creates headaches for waterfront communities and parks. Sightseeing flights are designed by nature to hover over landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty, she added.

Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D), sponsor of the legislation in Albany’s lower chamber, said talks are ongoing as lawmakers hammer out a final fiscal 2026 budget plan ahead of the April 1 deadline.

“I think most people understand this is a super luxury item and is something we rightfully should look at,” he said.