I have been flying helicopters in the Hudson corridor for 20 years and I can tell you it is the fixed wing pilots that are "the culprits". Especially the weekend warriors. Any fixed wing that wants to land at one of the NYC heliports should be able to fly into the corridor, otherwise they should be forced to stay ABOVE 1000 ft and talk to LGA or EWR.
So this helicopter professional feels that it is OK for a fixed wing to land at a heliport. Somebody let him know that a fixed wing needs a minimum of about 2,000 feet to land and take off anywhere. He needs to get his head out of his helicopter world.
Also, let it be noted that it is reported that the helicopter took off from its base BEHIND the Piper, yet the Piper is reported to have ploughed into the helicopter which appeared in FRONT of it. If this turns out to be true, then the helicopter must have overtaken the Piper from below, and popped up in front of the Piper. That is a scary thought for any fixed wing pilot, especially a VFR amateur taking a kid out for a weekend memory flight.