By Fern Sidman and Hellen Zaboulani
On Wednesday, a state judge ruled that the East Hampton town’s move to privatize the noisy municipal airport this spring was illegal.
As per the NY Times, the decision reignited a longstanding feud between the Long Island town’s posh and posher. Well-heeled homeowners, who opposed the noisy flight path, thought they had finally won the battle, when the ruling came in to rain on their parade.
On Friday, the East Hampton Town Board made it public that it doesn’t intend to take the ruling sitting down, per the Times. In a statement, the Board said the decision doesn’t take into account the “overwhelming community consensus in favor of common-sense airport regulations.” The board said it is looking into its options, including the possibility of appealing the court decision. “The town remains firmly committed to ensuring that its airport best serves the community,” the statement said. Posh residents have been complaining that the small airport is the cause of too much noise. In 2019, more than 30,000 flights went to and from the airport—resulting in 47,000 noise complaints just over the summer season, per the Times.
Suffolk County Judge Paul Baisley on Oct. 19 ruled against the privatization, however, saying it “acted both beyond its legal abilities and in an arbitrary and capricious manner” per the Post. Previously the judge had only placed a temporary restraining order preventing the changeover. Baisley now concluded that the town’s plan violated New York environmental law, which would have mandated an environmental impact study before the airport reopened — not afterward as the town was planning, as was reported by The Post. The judge also said the town’s plan to set curfew would be illegal, saying it “fails to comply with…procedural requirements for adopting noise and access restrictions,” according to the Post report.
The months-long battle began back in February when East Hamptons board members began playing out a scheme to close the town airport and to quickly reopen it as a private, town-controlled airport—drastically reducing the air traffic and using it just for private jets and helicopters. Affluent residents would be happy to keep the airport for their own use, but be rid of the noisy commercial jets that come in to the two runway airport, which was first opened in 1937.
Plus, temporarily closing the airport would also allow the town to collect $10 million from a Federal Aviation Administration fund. The plan hit a snag when the board got a fiercely-worded letter from the FAA. “The FAA was furious. They felt that they were strong-armed,” a New York aviation insider told the Post. “It’s extremely rare that the FAA ever sends a letter like this.”
Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade Air Mobility, a helicopter ride-share company which was one of the plaintiffs in the case against privatizing the airport, told the Times his company will continue to follow recommended curfews and abatement routes. He was referring to the operators’ efforts to calm the homeowner complaints by using an alternate flight path, taking flights over the Atlantic Ocean, then turning west over East Hampton, instead of flying directly over heavily populated areas in the North Fork of the Island, in order to ease the noise for residents. “We hope the ruling leads to constructive discussions between the town and all East Hampton Airport stakeholders,” said Mr. Wiesenthal in an emailed statement to the Times.
