<p>A hearing on a proposed helicopter landing pad at an IBM research center in southern Yorktown, near the New Castle border, drew criticism of noise generated by a variety of helicopters but little other comment.</p><p>The Yorktown Planning Board closed the hearing after three residents spoke at a recent meeting, but will accept additional comments during the next 10 days as part of its consideration of the proposal, which includes a renewable special permit, said John Flynn, acting board chairman.</p><p>IBM wants to build the pad, which it describes as a helistop, near the main entrance to the Thomas J. Watson Research Center. The pad would be used only for landing and takeoff, not storage, said Bob DeAngelis, senior manager of facilities, engineering, environmental and safety for IBM Yorktown.</p><p>DeAngelis, who led a team of IBM presenters, said the pad would serve one, possibly two, flights a month, usually between Monday and Friday during normal business hours. The pad, about 100 feet in diameter, would be near the center of the Watson site to reduce its impact on neighbors. Helicopters would approach and depart from/to the north and west, avoiding more heavily populated areas to the south and east.</p><p><a href="http://chappaqua.patch.com/articles/ibm-helicopter-plan-near-new-castle-gets-noise-concerns">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://newyork.newsday.com/westchester/ibm-proposes-helicopter-landing-pad-in-yorktown-1.3916542">IBM proposes helicopter landing pad in Yorktown</a> (Newsday (subscription))</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=dquzzxSsGwCGyjMyS1Y71SXrlVrgM">3 additional articles.</a></p>