A sightseeing helicopter crash in the Hudson River that killed six people earlier this month is spurring increased efforts to place stricter limits on tourism choppers that buzz Staten Island.

“The helicopter tour industry must be reined in,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said in Richmond, where she was joined by more than two dozen neighborhood residents and civic group leaders.

Staten Islanders have complained for months about increased tourist helicopter flights over the borough, primarily those from the HeliNY firm, which flies nighttime sightseeing choppers out of Linden Municipal Airport in New Jersey.

“The helicopter industry as a whole continues to treat New Yorkers skies like their own playground,” Malliotakis said, “flying low and often over densely populated communities like ours right here in Richmondtown and across Staten Island with little regard for residents’ safety or quality of life.”

Malliotakis said that some constituents have complained that the helicopters are flying so low that the force of the passing choppers causes the water in their pools to ripple.

“If the water in your yard is moving, that means that the aircraft is too low,” the congresswoman said.

“We should not be living in a situation where we’re being told that our residents have to resort to sleeping in their basement at night because the loud noises are so intense they can’t sleep,” said Carol Donovan, president of the Richmondtown & Clarke Avenue Civic Association. “People are finding cracks in the walls of their homes from the vibrations. Their houses are shaking, windows shaking. We feel as if we’re living at an airport. That shouldn’t be.”

Malliotakis said that the Hudson River crash on April 10 was “the clearest sign yet of an industry that’s operated without meaningful oversight for far too long.”

“How do we know that one of these helicopters is not going to crash into somebody’s home?” the congresswoman said. “It needs to be addressed, and we will continue to push for stronger protections until our communities are no longer under constant assault by these nuisance helicopters.”

Malliotakis said that noise complaints here had increased after HeliNY choppers strayed from a flight path over the Staten Island Expressway.

The Advance/SILive.com has reached out to HeliNY for a response.

The regional anti-helicopter group Stop the Chop NY/NJ has also pointed to the danger posed by the tour helicopters, saying that the increased chopper traffic in the city is a tragedy waiting to happen.

Lifetime Richmond resident James Tonrey said that the chopper problem has gotten “exponentially worse” over the last few years. He wants the aircraft rerouted.

“These helicopters are super loud,” Tonrey said. “They’re flying very low. I’ve had many times where my house is shaking, the windows are rattling.”

Malliotakis is proposing a ban on non-essential helicopter flights over residential communities in municipalities of 5 million residents or more.

Malliotakis also called on the Federal Aviation Administration to impose strict altitude requirements, enforceable no-fly zones to protect residential neighborhoods, and a reduction in non-essential helicopter flights.

When asked for a response by the Advance/SILive.com, an FAA spokesperson said that the agency “will respond directly to the congresswoman.”

Jessica Phillips, CEO of Historic Richmond Town, said that she is concerned about the effect that low-flying helicopters could have on the historic structures in the settlement.

“These are precious landmarks, not just for Staten Island or New York City or New York state, but for the nation as a whole,” she said. “And when I hear from our residential neighbors that they are suffering from cracks in their houses from these helicopters, it’s cause for great concern.”

Joe McAllister, president and founder of the South Beach Civic Organization, said his group had been fighting air noise for years.

“We have issues here,” McAllister said. “Our quality-of-life issues. The health problems, our lungs, the particulate, the noise pollution that we’re hearing.”

A recently passed City Council law banning non-essential helicopter flights in New York City would not affect flights coming out of New Jersey.