Residents fear helipad will make for another hellish summer

A

h summer, the warm sunshine on your face, a cool breeze in your hair and chopper hovering over your back yard. Not a familiar scene to you? Well, if you live in parts of Oceanport and Little Silver, the scenario is about as predictable as the trains on the New Jersey Coastline.

It’s the summer commuter rush from the Jersey Shore to Manhattan, and instead of clogging the roads, these commuters are filling up the friendly skies of residential neighborhoods with a steady stream of helicopter flights.

According to one helicopter company, he caters to "high rollers" who will pay high fees to take off and land whenever they want. There’s nothing wrong with a deep-pocketed customer forking over hefty fares for a service he enjoys, but the problem is that the real cost is paid by the residents who live under their flight patterns.

Just how many flights there are per day and the exact pattern they take is up for dispute. Helicopter officials say a couple of flights in the morning and a couple in the evening are the usual. However, residents who say their peace is disturbed regularly by continuous flights beg to differ.

While last week’s meeting in Oceanport may have proven an outlet for some frustrated residents, it won’t likely do much for their plight. If what state Department of Transportation officials say is true, helicopters and their operating companies have veritable free rein over when and where they fly.

Borough officials and residents should urge their legislators to pressure the DOT to adopt reasonable regulations to govern flight times, patterns and volume.

Steering clear of clouds and homes, the helicopters may not be falling out of the sky as some residents fear they will, but residents are still feeling the impact.

Unlike the area’s ever-present train whistles and railroad gates — which have for years serviced the general public — the helicopters represent an elite mode of transportation whose bad effects outweigh its public good. Residents should not be forced to deal with the incessant noise of a private service enjoyed by a select few.