East 34th Street Heliport (FAA LID: 6N5) is a heliport on the east side of Manhattan located on the East River Greenway, between the East River and the FDR Drive viaduct. Also known as the Atlantic Metroport at East 34th Street, it is a public heliport owned by New York City and run by the Economic Development Corporation.
East 34th Street Heliport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Economic Development Corp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | Atlantic Aviation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Serves | New York City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 10 ft / 3 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 40°44′33″N 073°58′19″W / 40.74250°N 73.97194°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | Official website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Helipads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Airnav:[1] |
The East 34th Street Heliport opened on the site of the original East 34th Street Ferry Landing in 1972, providing charter, commuter, and sightseeing flights. It served as a replacement for the heliport atop the Pan Am Building, which closed in 1968. (That heliport reopened for three months in 1977 before a helicopter crash killed five people.[2][3])
During the 1980s and early 1990s, New York Helicopter operated frequent scheduled service from the heliport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Fourteen-seat turbine-powered Sikorsky S-58T helicopters were used on this service.
After several residential high rises were built in the neighborhood in the 1980s, the city was pressured into reducing helicopter traffic in the area. Sightseeing flights were banned from the heliport in 1997.[4] In 1998, flights were limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 pm on weekends.[5] Weekend flights were banned altogether later in the year.[6]
US Helicopter provided regular passenger service from the Heliport to JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport from 2007 to September 2009.[7][8]
Since this is a heliport and not an airport, there are no instrument procedures for this facility. Boats in the nearby East River require pilots to be careful when approaching the heliport's landing pad.
In 2010, 72% of the flights were air taxi, 18% general aviation, 9% commuters, and less than 1% military.[1] In 2017, 96% were air taxi, 3% transient general aviation, and 2% military.[1]