Town Meeting On Hamptons Airport Noise Postponed Due To Winter Storm

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A public hearing that was expected to draw hundreds of people to address noise complaints at the East Hampton Town Airport has been postponed because of the snowstorm.

Town officials say the meeting, which was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, will be held on March 12.

The town board is considering four new laws that would restrict flights at the airport. The laws are proposed to address long-simmering complaints about noise from helicopters, private jets and other planes ferrying the rich and famous to their estates.

The town received 24,591 complaints about airport-related noise in 2014. That's almost quadruple the 6,776 a year earlier.

The proposed changes include prohibiting all helicopter operations from noon Thursday to noon Monday during the summer.

Opponents say the restrictions would hurt the local economy.

Aviation company owner Cindy Herbst calls the ban drastic. She said the 45-minute chopper trip from Manhattan shuttles well-healed patrons that local businesses count on.

"People buy and rent houses for a lot of money out here, not so they can sit on the highway for five hours to get here," Herbst said.

In February 2015, CBS2 reported 25,000 chopper flights went in and out of East Hampton airport last summer.

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