New Beginnings for Airport Control
One of the most fascinating aspects of the new approach to regulating noise from aircraft that use East Hampton Airport is that it is not really new. Ken Lipper and Peter Wolf, who took it on their own initiative to propose ways of curbing air traffic, identified a portion of the town’s comprehensive plan in advocating a community-first vision of the airport. Though the strict restrictions they have proposed, along with those about to come from a town advisory committee, may grab the headlines, their idea that the facility should be run to satisfy the broadest possible community interest is compelling.
The pair stated that East Hampton Airport should be returned to its traditional noncommercial status. This is sure to anger the several helicopter and seaplane services that have profited from expanded use of the airport. However, Mr. Lipper and Mr. Wolf, as well as a top law firm they have hired, say the town has every right to adopt the restrictions they propose once free of promises made in exchange for money from the Federal Aviation Administration, some of which expire at the end of the year.
The essential question Mr. Lipper, Mr. Wolf, and many others ask is who benefits from avoiding the several-hours-long weekend trip on the Long Island Expressway by traveling by helicopter. Does the convenience of well-off fliers justify the disruption their luxury creates for those on the ground? The answer is most emphatically “no.”
The path appears to be set for the town’s airport committee to issue formal recommendations as early as next week. Mirroring in many aspects the ideas floated by Mr. Lipper and Mr. Wolf, they could call for eliminating, or at least the sharp reduction of, helicopter landings; limiting the airport’s hours of operation, perhaps to between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. most days, and limiting fixed-wing aircraft landings and takeoffs to as few as four per hour.
The draft document is expected to say that the highest value of the airport is its recreational use by residents. According to the draft, long-distance transportation, chiefly jets used by second-home owners and summer visitors from other parts of the country and abroad, should be considered a “distant second.” Commuter trips, as the committee appears set to conclude, are of “little social value to the community” and ample, if more time-consuming, alternatives exist.
In effect, the view is: Let them ride the Long Island Rail Road, fly into another airport, or enjoy the company of those whose pockets are not quite so deep as they snake along the Long Island Expressway. We say, why not?
Looking at the town’s comprehensive plan, the 2005 document plainly states that nothing should be allowed at the airport that would “encourage growth in operations” or lead to “environmental harm.” Presumably this includes the impact of noise on those people and creatures living below. It also says the emphasis should be on safety and noise abatement, while it offers nothing to assure the convenience and profits of helicopter operators.
On a separate note: Tom Twomey’s unexpected death on Nov. 16 should not go unremarked in this regard. As a private pilot and lawyer with personal and professional ties to some airport businesses, Mr. Twomey was a key player there for many years. Lately, he had been at the lead of an absolutely necessary rapprochement between propeller-plane owners like himself and anti-noise activists, recognizing that burgeoning commercial helicopter traffic was a common enemy. He was also a key, if behind-the-scenes voice for the tough, yet conciliatory approach to the Federal Aviation Administration that is now favored by town officials. His leadership will be missed, but the reasoned path he had begun to lay out is clear.