Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport Calls for Meaningful Restrictions

WAINSCOTT, N.Y., March 28, 2022 (Newswire.com) - The East Hampton Town Board recently proposed restrictions on air traffic at East Hampton Airport.

These measures will have at best a marginal impact on air traffic, according to the Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport (CTA), an organization representative of over 20 other groups, including Stop the Chop NY/NJ, Wainscott United, Shinnecock Nation, Noyac Civic Council, and Riverhead Noise Task Force.

Says CTA Director Barry Raebeck, "We implore the Town Board to side with the far greater good and enact meaningful restrictions: no helicopters, no seaplanes, no jets over 25,000 pounds, no sale of aviation fuel, and a 4 p.m.-10 a.m. daily curfew."

Among the most serious weaknesses identified by CTA:

*The proposed 8 p.m.-8 a.m. curfews will just concentrate into fewer hours the noise and air pollution over East Hampton, not to mention neighboring communities from Sagaponack to New York City. 

*The proposed once-a-day limit on individual-aircraft operations will have little impact on Blade and other crowd-sourced operators with legions of choppers and other aircraft at their disposal.

*The proposed restrictions as a whole amount to climate change denial of the impact of ever-growing luxury air traffic to and from East Hampton Airport, this despite the Town's self-proclaimed status as a "Climate Smart Community."

CTA has retained legal counsel to provide ongoing scrutiny of the Town's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.

Contact: 

Barry Raebeck 631-902-4937 braebeck@optonline

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BACKGROUND

A presentation by the Town's outside aviation counsel on the proposed restrictions is available here:  https://ehamptonny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11894/Airport-Proposed-PPR-Framework-for-2022-Season-Mar-1

Latest developments as reported by East Hampton Star are available here: https://www.easthamptonstar.com/government/2022317/comment-deadline-scope-airport-assessment-friday

The Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport website is available here: https://www.transformeasthamptonairport.com/

Source: Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport