Rotorcraft
VAI Lauds End of West 30th St Heliport Closure Effort
The New York State bill would have closed a critical facility
West 30th Street heliport, NYC
© AIN archives

Legislative efforts in New York State that would have led to the closure of the West 30th Street Heliport in Manhattan have ended. Language that would have prohibited “any facility for motorized aircraft, including a heliport” has been removed from the legislation, thanks to a grassroots campaign led by Vertical Aviation International (VAI) that responded vigorously to a request to contact state legislators and express concern over the closure plans.

VAI members and others from industry partners such as the NBAA sent more than 96,000 emails to every member of both state houses, according to Josh Rousseau, VAI northeast U.S. regional representative. “They felt the heat,” he said.