Four Airport Plans and Lots of Crowd Noise
Residents vent concerns about air traffic
By Ellen Keohane
(07/26/2007) Of the more than 25 people who spoke at a public hearing on the draft master plan for the East Hampton Airport last Thursday, the majority demanded that something be done about the growing number of low-flying helicopters buzzing their homes.
“It felt like ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ” Kathi Goldman of the Northwest section of East Hampton said of the number of helicopters that flew over her house on July 3. The noise was so bad, she had to flee her residence and stay with a friend in New York City, Ms. Goldman said.
“We’ve had enough,” said Bill Reilly of Noyac. From Thursday through Tuesday there are between 70 and 100 flights per day below 2,000 feet, he said. When the helicopters fly over, conversations must cease, lightbulbs flicker, and glasses crack, he said.
The hearing, which took place at East Hampton High School, lasted more than two hours, with approximately 100 people in attendance. The purpose of the hearing was to solicit comments from the public specifically on the draft master plan document, Supervisor Bill McGintee reminded the crowd. However, few heeded his request. The record will remain open until Aug. 30 for written comments.
The future of the East Hampton Airport, which was first constructed in 1936, has been a source of controversy for years. The airport consists of 610 acres including a 56-acre industrial park, off Industrial and Daniel’s Hole Roads in Wainscott. The airport has one main runway, 10-28, and two smaller ones, 16-34 and 4-22. Runway 4-22 was closed last year due to disrepair. East Hampton Airport has no control tower to record air-traffic movements, and is therefore considered an “uncontrolled airport.”
The town has hired three consulting firms, Savik and Murray Consulting Engineers, DY Consultants, and Young Environmental Sciences to create the draft master plan, the first since 1989.
The town can adopt any one of four plans highlighted in the draft report or select aspects from the different plans. The draft of the master plan and feedback from the public will be used as a tool by the East Hampton Town Board to determine what the physical components of the airport should be, said Lisa Liquori, a consultant to the town board and a former town planning director.
As the plan is finalized, the town board will coordinate with neighboring municipalities and with the Federal Aviation Administration. There will also be a full environmental review, Ms. Liquori said. Future hearings will be held as the plan moves forward, she said.
The first proposed plan recommended “no action” be taken — meaning that the airport remain in its current condition. The second plan would only make changes that minimize the airport’s impact on the community, reducing traffic, noise, or other nuisances. For example, under the second plan, the length and width of one runway would be reduced and another runway would be closed permanently. The third plan would improve, but not expand, the present facility. And the fourth would expand the airport.
In addition to complaints about helicopter noise, several speakers said they supported keeping all three runways open as well as constructing a seasonal airport control tower and installing a weather observation station.
Mayor Laura Nolan of North Haven, who could not attend the meeting, submitted a letter in support of building a tower and weather station. The mayor, as well as Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, also expressed concern about the dramatic increase in helicopter traffic within the last few years and its impact on residents’ quality of life.
“Believe me, we’re as frustrated as you,” James Brundige, the manager of the East Hampton Airport, said of the helicopter traffic, which has doubled within the past 10 years. Building a control tower might alleviate the problem, he said.
The addition of a control tower would allow air-traffic controllers to dictate routes in and out of the airport, possibly reducing the concentration of noise over certain residential areas. However, the town would most likely have to pay for and run the tower as the Federal Aviation Administration would not station controllers at an airport as small as East Hampton’s.
Supervisor McGintee explained that the town had no control over the pilots flying into the airport as it is in “uncontrolled airspace.” Pilots are asked to follow suggested routes and to maintain certain altitudes, but their actions are voluntary, he said.
The supervisor reminded those at the hearing that Senator Charles E. Schumer recently proposed legislation requiring the F.A.A. to study the issue of helicopter traffic over Long Island. It’s a federal issue, he said, urging those concerned to contact their representatives in Washington, D.C.
Along with other pilots, Bruno Schreck, who flies a single-engine Cessna and lives in East Hampton, stressed the importance of keeping all three airport runways open, at least nine months out of the year. Runway 16-34 is close to a plane parking area that often fills up during the summertime, Mr. Schreck said, when reached by phone on Monday. During the off-season, when there is no parking problem, it should be kept open, he said.
Fixed-wing aircraft have to touch down into the wind, Mr. Schreck said. During the winter, when the air is cold and dense, it is difficult to land on the main runway because it is pointed in the wrong direction, he said. “When you get a strong north wind, particularly in the wintertime, [16-34 is] the only runway you can use,” he said.
Helicopters, which seem to be the primary source of noise complaints, do not need a runway, Mr. Schreck said. There are only two ways to get by air from Manhattan to East Hampton — by helicopter or seaplane, he said. So fixing runway 4-22 may actually result in a reduction of noise, if more people chose to take seaplanes, he argued.
Tom Gibbons, a consultant representing the East Hampton Aviation Association and Save East Hampton Airport, also asked the board to consider keeping runway 16-34 open during the winter.
Several speakers, including Peter Wadsworth of the airport noise abatement committee, recommended that alternative helicopter routes, possibly over the water, be explored and included in the master plan.
Mr. Wadsworth said that the committee also supported the addition of a weather system and seasonal control tower, although he questioned how the tower would be constructed without F.A.A. funding. He also said that the committee recommended that a noise reduction strategy be incorporated into the master plan and did not support any expansion of the airport.
Ed Gorman, a pilot who lives near the airport, stressed that the town should not accept any future F.A.A. grants. These grants require the town to honor certain obligations in the form of “grant assurances.”
By declining these grants, the town would be able to gain more control over decisions about the airport, like establishing a nighttime curfew on landings or banning loud aircraft. Some grant assurances tied to money that the town has already accepted extend through 2014. When the grant assurances expire, the town will have more control and ability to regulate the airport, Laura Molinari, the town attorney, said at the hearing.
Others recommended that landing fees be increased with money going toward airport improvements.
Laurie Wiltshire, a private land planner, spoke on behalf of several local businesses that occupy space in the industrial park, which is on airport property. She said her clients opposed the fourth plan, which would require demolition of two buildings in the industrial park. Many of her clients have valid leases until 2016 with an option to purchase, and the final plan should take this under consideration, she said.
Others seemed unwilling to compromise. Both Irwin Sarason of East Hampton and Ken Dorph of Sag Harbor said they supported shutting the airport down.
Ninety percent of the people who live here have never used the airport, Mr. Dorph said. “How dare you let them fly over our houses,” he said to the board. Rather than improving the airport, he recommended that the town spend the money on building a “high-speed train.”