May I ask, how on earth does a fixed wing and a helicopter get to fly at the same altitude in regulated airspace? if this is so, one can hardly apportion blame to either party were they within regulated altitude, NO, the regulators need to answer the question.
Unless something I don't know about has changed (which is possible, since I grounded myself about 10 years ago), it's not "regulated airspace." It is a narrow, VFR, see-and-avoid corridor under and through regulated airspace. I used to fly it all the time, and the only "regulations" were that you stay under 1,200 feet and above 500 (or 1,000 if you're close to the shore) and within the shoreline boundaries. There's an informal rule that everybody "keep right"--southbound traffic on the Jersey side, northbound on the Manhattan side.
As far as I know, flight following by ATC is at the pilot's discretion.