Downtown Heliport.

[brianac]

October 7, 2008, 10:18 am

Deal for Downtown Heliport Moves Forward

By Patrick McGeehan (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/author/pmcgeehan/)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/20/nyregion/heli-533.jpg
A Liberty Helicopters tour touching down at the West 30th Street Heliport. (Photo: Dima Gavrysh for The New York Times)

Over the persistent objections of some operators of helicopter services, the city comptroller decided on Monday not to block a 10-year contract with an upstate company (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/nyregion/03heliport.html?scp=1&sq=downtown%20heliport&st=cse) that would take over the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.

The decision leaves only some details to be worked out between the company, FirstFlight, and the city’s Economic Development Corporation, (http://www.nycedc.com/Web) according to Patricia Ornst, an executive of the development company.

FirstFlight, which agreed to pay $100,000 a month in rent, is expected to start assuming control of the heliport from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (http://www.panynj.gov/) within several weeks, she said.

The selection of FirstFlight, based near Elmira, N.Y., stirred debate last spring (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/nyregion/13heliport.html?scp=3&sq=heliport&st=cse) when some operators of sightseeing helicopter services objected and one of the losing bidders for the contract sued the development corporation. The losing bidder, Linden Airport Management Corporation, argued in a complaint still pending in federal court in Manhattan that it had offered the city more money and that it was better qualified than FirstFlight, which has never managed an urban heliport. (Linden operates an airfield in New Jersey that is the home base for several helicopters that fly around the city.)

The tour operators complained that FirstFlight is affiliated with the Trenk family, which runs the heliport on Manhattan’s West Side and a sightseeing service that competes with them. Two operators said that the Trenks had unfairly shut them out of the West 30th Street Heliport (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/nyregion/15heliport.html?scp=1&sq=trenk%20heliport&st=cse), which sits inside the Hudson River Park.

Ms. Ornst said that she wanted “to assure the tenants that no disruptions are anticipated” and that “business will be conducted in a fair way.”

She acknowledged that some sightseeing flights are very likely to be diverted to the downtown heliport because the West Side heliport has started gradually phasing down the sightseeing traffic there. But she added that she was sensitive to complaints from downtown residents about helicopter noise.

Under FirstFlight’s management, the downtown heliport, a few blocks from Wall Street, will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Ms. Ornst said.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/deal-for-downtown-heliport-moves-forward/

Copyright 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[brianac]

Updated On 10/20/08 at 01:44PM

Heliport contract to begin November 1



http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/53726/heliport_articlebox.jpg (http://beta.therealdeal.com/assets/53726)
Downtown Manhattan Heliport



The New York City Economic Development Corporation has awarded FirstFlight -- which is involved in aircraft charter management, base operations and maintenance -- a concession agreement to operate the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Lower Manhattan starting November 1.

In addition to a monthly rent -- previously reported at $100,000 per month (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/firstflight-will-take-over-downtown-manhattan-heliport) -- FirstFlight agreed to make $2 million worth of capital improvements to the heliport, including a new aircraft tracking system and a new flight operations room. TRD


© 2008 The Real Deal

[brianac]

Security Issues Shut Down Downtown Copter Shuttle

By PATRICK MCGEEHAN (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/patrick_mcgeehan/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: November 30, 2008

U.S. Helicopter, the only company shuttling travelers from heliports in Manhattan to local airports, was already in dire financial straits, but a decision by city officials has left the air-shuttle operator unable to fly to or from its base of operations near Wall Street.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/12/01/nyregion/01heliport650.jpgLibrado Romero/The New York Times
Charter and tourist helicopter flights still use the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, but airport shuttles use an East Side port.

The problem involves FirstFlight, a small aviation company that city officials selected to manage the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. That company, which had no experience operating an urban heliport or airport, took over operations at the downtown heliport on Nov. 1. But it still has not obtained the federal Transportation Security Administration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/t/transportation_security_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org)’s approval of its plan for maintaining security there.

Without an approved security plan, FirstFlight (http://www.fflt.com/) cannot serve U.S. Helicopter (http://www.flyush.com/)’s passengers, who had been clearing security at the heliport and bypassing the screening lines at Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International airports. U.S. Helicopter has been telling passengers that the disruption was only temporary, but it has stretched into its fourth week and may last a few more, according to Lara Uselding, a
spokeswoman for the security administration.

The absence of a security plan has left the security administration’s crew at the heliport with no luggage or passengers to screen. The federal agency assigned a screening team to the heliport before U.S. Helicopter began operating there in early 2006, just as the agency reduced staffing at the region’s three major airports.

(On Wednesday, the screeners were temporarily reassigned to La Guardia Airport to help handle the holiday rush, Ms. Uselding said.)

That setup allowed U.S. Helicopter’s customers, who paid as much as $159 for an eight-minute ride, to clear security in Manhattan and fly directly to secure areas of the airports.

Until Nov. 1, the company was running flights from two heliports — one near Wall Street and another at the east end of 34th Street — to Kennedy and Newark. For the past few weeks, travelers who live or work in Lower Manhattan have had to travel more than three miles uptown to the East 34th Street Heliport to board a U.S. Helicopter flight.

U.S. Helicopter had ambitious plans to expand the service to La Guardia and a third heliport on the West Side of Manhattan, then to other cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. But demand for the service has been weak, and the company has had trouble financing its growth.

As its losses have piled up, the company has been borrowing to stay in business at interest rates as high as 15 percent, according to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier this year, the company’s auditors expressed doubt about its ability to continue operating.

It was unclear how much U.S. Helicopter had suffered from being barred from using its downtown heliport or how long the company could survive without it. Donal McSullivan, the company’s chief marketing officer, did not respond to messages left on his cellphone and at the company’s offices.

U.S. Helicopter’s troubles were compounded when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/p/port_authority_of_new_york_and_new_jersey/index.html?inline=nyt-org) stopped managing the downtown heliport on Oct. 31. City officials had expected FirstFlight, which won the contract to operate the heliport over several other bidders, to take over without disruption, said David Lombino, a spokesman for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which oversaw the bidding.

But the company did not draw up a security plan of its own and seek the Transportation Security Administration’s approval until the Port Authority’s managers were leaving the heliport and taking their security plan with them, aviation officials said.

Paul Dudley, owner of Linden Airport Management Corporation in New Jersey, an unsuccessful bidder, sued the Economic Development Corporation in state and federal courts and appealed to city officials, arguing, among other things, that FirstFlight was unqualified to operate the heliport. The failure to obtain the required federal approval was proof that he was right, Mr. Dudley said in an interview.

“The city should have canceled them immediately because they failed to meet a principal and fundamental requirement of the contract,” Mr. Dudley said.

Ronald J. Ricciardi, vice chairman of FirstFlight, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Any new entity that would be a new operator would hopefully understand the importance of security in the New York City area and should expect to comply with Congressional mandates for upholding the highest levels of security,” Ms. Uselding said.

She added that the security administration was working with FirstFlight officials and hoped to have an acceptable security plan drawn up “in the coming weeks.”

In the meantime, the downtown heliport has remained open for the sightseeing and charter flights by other companies that account for most of the traffic there, Mr. Lombino said. “The transition to FirstFlight has been otherwise seamless, and the heliport has been operating in a safe and efficient manner.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/nyregion/01heliport.html?ref=nyregion

Copyright 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[NYC4Life]

The President can still fly in Lower Manhattan relatively worry free.

[brianac]

March 31, 2009, 4:11 pm

Copter Shuttle to Airports Resumes

By Patrick McGeehan (http://wirednewyork.com/author/patrick-mcgeehan/)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/12/01/nyregion/01heliport190.jpgLibrado Romero/The New York Times
Helicopter flights to Newark and Kennedy airports are resuming from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.

After a five-month interruption, the only provider of scheduled helicopter flights between Manhattan and two local airports has resumed flying to and from its base of operations near Wall Street.

U.S. Helicopter (http://www.flyush.com/), which has been struggling to stay in business, said Tuesday that it had returned to a full schedule of flights between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports. The service began at the heliport in March 2006, hoping to attract business travelers from the financial district willing to pay $159 for an eight-minute shuttle ride.

But on Nov. 1, a new operator chosen by city officials began running the heliport and blocked U.S. Helicopter from using it.

At first, the operator, FirstFlight, did not have an approved security plan cleared by the federal Transportation Security Administration, which screens the shuttle’s passengers and their luggage. After the security administration approved a plan, FirstFlight demanded a higher rent than U.S. Helicopter was willing to pay.

That stalemate lasted for more than three months, until city officials brought the two sides together, according to Patricia Ornst, who oversees the heliport for the city’s Economic Development Corporation (http://www.nycedc.com/Web).

“The city felt that it was very important to resume the service at the downtown heliport so we helped facilitate a meeting between the parties,” Ms. Ornst said in an interview last week. “We didn’t want to be held responsible for the operator not being able to come to terms.”

The Economic Development Corporation became involved when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided last year to turn control of the heliport over to the city. City officials chose FirstFlight, a small company that had never operated an urban heliport.

Since then, FirstFlight has gone through several changes, including a loss of executives and directors. Last week, FirstFlight told federal regulators that it could not file its annual report on time “because the company has limited corporate resources.”

FirstFlight agreed to pay at least $1.2 million a year in a 10-year lease of the heliport and to spend millions more to make significant improvements.

Ms. Ornst said city officials were confident that FirstFlight would continue to manage the heliport and make the promised improvements.

As for U.S. Helicopter’s prospects in a steep recession, she said, “They’re in a tough situation right now, and we wanted them to resume as quickly as possible.”

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/copter-shuttle-to-airports-resumes/

Copyright 2009 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)