Three factors are usually contributing to any catastrophe: negligence, recklessness (kind of boasting stupidity) and bureaucracy. If controller was on the phone and his supervisor ran somewhere - so it was routine practice for everybody in this airport. I am pretty sure pilots used this airport have a lot to say, although they also could prefer to keep their mouth shut since it is private planes in private businesses. It was said before that pilots of helicopters check for each other in the air. There is no any other control system besides pilots, covering their asses? Sound like bad joke, but if it is what was said...

Schumer Offers Safety Proposals for Hudson Air Traffic
Senator Charles E. Schumer, saying that recent proposals to regulate air traffic over the Hudson River did not go far enough toward preventing another midair collision like the one that killed nine people earlier this month, offered several recommendations of his own on Sunday.
He said the Federal Aviation Administration should monitor all flights, of both helicopters and airplanes, below 1,000 feet and require aircraft to file flight plans. There is no current system regulating flights below that altitude, where they use a “see and avoid” strategy.