Trending
East Hampton ponders closing airport
The airport generates millions of dollars in taxes and revenue for local businesses, but generates plenty of complaints too
The East Hampton Town Board is taking up one of the town’s most contentious issues — what to do with East Hampton Airport.
It’s possible the airport, which wealthy visitors and residents frequently use to avoid the notorious Hamptons traffic (or just save a few minutes), could close as soon as September, according to the New York Post.
The town has certain obligations to the Federal Aviation Administration — including allowing commercial flights — because of a funding agreement with the feds. That agreement expires in September, giving the town a number of options for the 600-acre property.
Some people want the town to shutter and redevelop it as a public park. Another option is banning commercial flights, which consultants said would result in a $3 million to $7 million loss in annual revenue, according to the East Hampton Star.
People who arrived at the airport in 2019 spent roughly $20 million in the town during their stays. But the airport also generated 47,000 noise complaints from the end of June through September of that year, mostly because of helicopters.
[NYP] [East Hampton Star] — Dennis Lynch