Mayor Bloomberg has decided to clip his own wings at the East 34th Street Heliport on weekends — after complaints that he repeatedly used the facility when it’s officially closed.
“While the heliport’s waiting rooms are closed on weekends and you can’t get fuel, we always thought that pilots could still take off and land — a courtesy that, it turns out, had been extended to mayors over the years,” Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said.
Actually, only one other mayor, Rudy Giuliani, has been in office since the heliport’s hours were restricted to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. following a 1998 lawsuit over the noise generated by the choppers.
Bloomberg, a licensed pilot, said yesterday he’d stop using the facility when it’s not open to the public.
The decision came less than 24 hours after a couple who live near the heliport complained that Bloomberg was rattling their world by violating the regulations.
To back up their claim, they provided videos showing the mayor, girlfriend Diana Taylor and their two dogs on what was clearly a recreational flight.