Latest news with #ChristopherMarte
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC Council regulates tourist helicopters following fatal crash and noise concerns
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Two weeks removed from that fatal chopper crash that claimed the lives of six people, the New York City Council is taking aim at tourist helicopters. On Thursday, the City Council passed legislation designed to make them quieter and safer — while conceding they would ideally like to do more. More Local News If signed into law, the city would ban non-essential tourist and commercial helicopter flights that don't meet the strictest of FAA noise standards. 'The most outdated, loudest and dirtiest helicopters will no longer be allowed to fly out of our downtown Manhattan heliport or East 34th Street heliport,' said New York City Council member Amanda Farías. The hope is that regulating helicopters in this way not only would improve noise concerns particularly for Manhattanites, but also improve safety because only more modern, clean, safe helicopters can meet these noise standards. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State However, the new law, which would go into effect in 2029, would not regulate the many tourism flights that originate from the Garden State. So the City Council is engaging with legislative partners across the river and formally calling on the New York State Legislature to completely block non-essential flights from launching in Manhattan and to impose a so-called noise tax on choppers buzzing over Manhattan. Moreover, the City Council would ideally like the FAA to ban tourist flights over New York City altogether but concede that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. 'We do need our federal colleagues to take action, but if we don't take action in the City Council, they won't have the incentive or pressure to take that next step,' said New York City Council member Christopher Marte. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Could This Be the End of the Party in Dimes Square?
On Wednesday, the New York City Council convened to vote on matters of critical importance: organic waste collection, blockchain technology, the upcoming mayoral race and 18 red bistro chairs that dot the corner of Canal and Ludlow Streets. Like hundreds of restaurateurs across the city, Jon Neidich, an owner of Le Dive, applied for a permit last year for sidewalk seating outside of his buzzy wine bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Under ordinary circumstances, his application would have been approved or rejected by the Department of Transportation, and never even considered by the City Council. Instead, Christopher Marte, a Council member who represents the area, brought it before the full Council for a vote — an unusual move given support from Le Dive's community board. The Council rejected it. 'Le Dive has demonstrated a continuous disregard for sidewalk cafe regulation,' Mr. Marte said during a committee meeting before the vote, 'and at this time cannot be trusted to be a good steward of this program and must be held accountable.' These kind of permits are being debated across the city. But there's something about one quarter-mile stretch of Canal Street. This expanse between Chinatown and the Lower East Side has become known as 'Dimes Square,' a destination for hip, young New Yorkers. During the pandemic, fast and loose enforcement of sidewalk and street dining solidified Dimes Square as a subculture and a micro-neighborhood, even briefly appearing on Google Maps. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
