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Hindsight May Benefit Stewart Airport Planning
To the Editor:
What I know about the Port Authority's specific plans for Stewart Airport is limited to what I have read in the paper - that the Port Authority purchased the Stewart lease with plans to shift some air traffic from the three major New York airports But, what I do know a little more about is how a previous Port Authority initiative to relieve congestion at those three airports severely impacted another community I lived in - Larchmont, NY. By this letter I hope to share with my Putnam County neighbors the benefits of hindsight from the Larchmont experience so that we may avoid that community's costly mistakes.
In the 1990s, the Port Authority designed a holding pattern for delayed LaGuardia traffic to circle over Larchmont and New Rochelle. As part of the federally mandated environmental review process, the Port Authority held a community meeting to discuss the flight pattern. It was poorly advertised and no one showed up. At the time, the flight pattern had not yet been put in place and air traffic was on no one's mind. The Port Authority interpreted the low attendance as a sign of community approval for the plan. In 2000, the air traffic pattern was eventually put in place. Suddenly, on a daily basis, planes were lined up one after another in the sky. The noise transformed the tranquil quality of the village. Boat owners complained of a buildup of oily residue on their boats. It was not until after these consequences were felt that the community came together. At that point, the Port Authority was already invested in the traffic pattern. The fight has been uphill all the way.
The point I hope to get across is that vigilance is key here. As a community, if we are in touch with the Port Authority and work with them from day one, we can choose our destiny. This will be much harder once the Port Authority becomes invested in a plan at which point it will direct its energy toward defending the plan rather than working with the community. That was the experience in Larchmont.
It appears we may still have a say in this matter. First, we are not too late to participate in the environmental review process which will be required before any major expansion. Second, we may still have an opportunity to influence the type of aircraft to use the airport. The choice is significant. For instance, cargo planes tend to travel in the middle of the night and are particularly loud and are therefore less desirable. In addition, there is flexibility in how airports design flight patterns to mitigate impact on nearby communities though such accommodations are never undertaken without community pressure.
Admittedly, Stewart is not LaGuardia or Newark. Not today anyway. But keep in mind that not long ago, Newark too was a small local airport thought to be too far from New York City to thrive.
Diana Hird Cold Spring
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