It’s electri-flying!
Taxis of the future at M’hattan home of the choppers
Mayor Adams showed off two huge drone-like choppers on Monday that he hailed as the future — as he announced plans to revamp the Big Apple’s main heliport so it can begin ferrying New Yorkers on electric flights.
Hizzoner watched as the cutting-edge electric helicopters, manufactured by Joby and Volocopter, respectively, took off quietly from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport near Battery Park.
“Today, we are taking sustainability to the sky and our streets, and New Yorkers can feel the electricity in the air in our city as we electrify our heliport infrastructure,” the mayor said as he revealed the push to turn the landing pad electric.
City now higher-ing
The New York City Economic Development Corporation is currently seeking an operator to fit out the city-owned heliport with the infrastructure required to host the electric choppers — including installing charge cube stations for the helicopters to power up between flights.
“Our vision for the Downtown Manhattan Heliport will create the world’s first heliport with infrastructure for electric-powered aircraft and put this public asset to work for New Yorkers as a hub for sustainable transportation and local deliveries,” Adams said.
Details on who would foot the bill to upgrade the city-run heliport located at the East River Piers were not revealed, but a source said it would be picked up by the operator who is chosen.
As part of the proposal, the city is requiring the future heliport operator to start readying its infrastructure in advance of the Federal Aviation Administration granting approval, which officials say is anticipated as early as 2025.
NYCEDC CEO Andrew Kimball expects commercial flights to start shortly after the FAA’s approval, adding that the technology is more or less ready to deploy.
“If you needed to get to JFK or LaGuardia or Newark, you hop on one of these things and get there in 10 minutes instead of an hour,” he said.