Diane Park says seaplanes no longer appropriate on East River
A Waterside resident says the waterfront transformed from industrial to residential; the July hard landing and close calls with ferries and the power plant show seaplanes are unsafe; no reevaluation in decades.
Thank you.
The first seaplanes began
operating on the East River and docking at East 23rd Street in the late 1930s.
At that time, the waterfront on both sides of the river was almost exclusively industrial and maritime in character.
Since then, the river between the Ed Koch and Williamsburg bridges, where the Blaines take off and land, has dramatically transformed into a heavily congested residential corridor
filled with apartment buildings, schools, parks, waterfront esplanades, and ferry terminals.
It is no longer safe or appropriate for seaplanes to operate at this location.
We at Waterside have been saying for years that these seaplanes are an accident waiting to happen.
Just this past July, a seaplane had a hard landing in the East River, not too far from the ferry terminal.
Fortunately, no one was killed, but we have repeatedly watched seaplanes land dangerously close to ferries,
take off and land right next to Waterside Plaza, fly dangerously close to the Con Edison Power Plant, to name just a few of the many dangerous maneuvers.
In the environmental review for the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment in Williamsburg, in a section called Domino Sugar Factory Towers are a Hazard to Air Navigation on the East River,
then director of aviation for a seaplane company operating there protested the new Domino Sugar Towers, indicating that the new towers would make the seaplane landing corridor narrower and less suitable under
certain wind conditions.
That was in 2007.
There has been significantly more buildup on the East River since then.
The FAA specifically mentions mechanical turbulence, which can be caused by large structures such as buildings.
And as far as we can tell at Waterside, there has not been an analysis or reevaluation in decades, if ever, to determine the safety of seaplanes operating at this location, given the dramatic changes in the landscape.
What are we waiting for?
Mass casualties?
Thank you.