Angry Westchester County residents say the steady stream of helicopters carrying affluent travelers to the Hamptons has turned their quiet suburban communities into what feels like a war zone.
Residents of the Sound Shore say the flights are destroying the area’s usual calm, with the noise disrupting work calls, family dinners and peaceful afternoons by the waterfront.
Larchmont resident Jay Davis said the helicopters have become impossible to escape, roaring overhead as he works remotely, spends time at parks along Long Island Sound and watches television with his family.
‘I have to put the closed captions on so I can see what’s happening on the screen. I don’t want to continue to live like this,’ Davis told The Wall Street Journal.
According to Wings Air Helicopters, the premium service can get passengers to the Hamptons in less than an hour, allowing them to bypass traffic-heavy drives and longer train journeys.
Frustration among those living beneath the flight paths appears to be mounting, with residents taking to Nextdoor to air complaints about the increasingly intrusive overhead traffic.
One neighbor likened the booming noise to that of a military Chinook helicopter, writing: ‘It’s giving me ’Nam flashbacks.’
But a Vietnam veteran from Yonkers took the opposite position, replying: ‘As a Vietnam veteran myself, I enjoy the flyovers. Welcome home.’
Westchester County residents have voiced outrage over the intense helicopter noise from Hamptons-bound flights disturbing their otherwise tranquil suburban neighborhoods.
The Westchester suburbs, known as the Sound Shore, span 36 miles along Long Island Sound and are widely recognized for their historic homes and grand estates.
According to Wing Air Helicopters, taking a helicopter to the Hamptons can significantly reduce travel time to under an hour compared to long commutes by car or train
‘One time I thought I had a helicopter in my driveway. It’s not as peaceful as it was before,’ Nancy Monzidelis, another Larchmont resident, told the WSJ outlet.
The disturbance had prompted residents to contact the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local congressmen.
Mateo Lallemand, a sophomore at Rye Country Day School, took matters into his own hands by creating an app that cross-references helicopter noises with the FAA registry and FlightRadar24, a flight tracking system.
Lallemand told the WSJ he set up a microphone outside his home that captures the audio and directly sends the information to his app for review.
His collected data showcased flights travelled to the Hamptons at around 1,000 feet above homes despite companies such as Flexjet, advertising that their luxury helicopter flies at a cruising altitude of 4,000 FT.
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This data was then shared with Representative George Latimer, who represents Westchester County, as a call to action to help find a solution to the complaints.
According to the WSJ, Rep. Latimer has engaged with FAA staff to study and investigate the issue.
‘The residents have a legitimate concern that cannot be ignored,’ he said in a statement to the outlet.
Westchester residents aren’t the only New Yorkers up in arms about the noise.
Outraged residents of Riverhead, Long Island attended a town board in July and complained about helicopters flying overhead from the North Fork to the Hamptons.
Rye is a coastal city in Westchester County, New York, United States, located near New York City
Rep. George Latimer (pictured) has engaged with FAA staff to study and investigate the issue.
According to the Gabreski Airport noise committee, the Westhampton airport recorded over 500 complaints from January through April of 2026.
Riverhead residents described the noises as ‘intolerable’ and claimed pilots were not following the FAA’s mandatory New York North Shore Helicopter Routes.
Since then, Eli Flint, the president of Flexjet’s helicopter division, has spoken out to WSJ about major safety concerns being the key reason why helicopters fly at low heights.
Earlier last year, a passenger jet carrying 60 passengers and an Army helicopter with crew members collided in Washington while heading to Ronald Reagan National Airport. The accident killed up to dozens of people.
As a result, air traffic controllers have directed all pilots to make more space for commercial airlines heading into airports.
‘That’s why we’re at 700 to 1,000 feet. We know it’s an issue,’ Flint told the outlet
The Daily Mail has reached out to Mateo Lallemand, Representative George Latimer, Eli Flint and the FAA for comments.