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How will this affect us?

 
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tom church



Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 533
Location: Beacon

PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 3:27 pm    Post subject: How will this affect us? Reply with quote

http://www.pojonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/BUSINESS/70125015

Port Authority meeting underway; check back soon for results
Port Authority may purchase lease for $78.5 million


By Craig Wolf
The Poughkeepsie Journal



NEW WINDSOR ? As a proposal to take over Stewart International Airport here heads to a vote by the commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, mostly favorable reaction is coming in.

The 93-year balance of a lease from New York state to National Express Group PLC, the London-based operator that bought a 99-year lease on Stewart in 2000, is on the agenda of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today, agency spokesmen confirmed Wednesday.

Information from the agency provided Wednesday said the leasehold would be bought, if all approvals are secured, for $78.5 million. The deal would close this year so the authority could take over in October, naming a third-party contractor to operate and maintain the airport under direction of authority staff.

The agency board meets this morning in New York City.

Poughkeepsie resident Rich DeSantola hailed the news.

?I think I speak for many who say they always preferred to fly out of Stewart, but the extra cost (often as much as $200 more than flying out of the ?Big 3?) made it prohibitive. The Port Authority would guarantee that Stewart would be looked at as a legitimate alternative to the NYC area airports,? he said.

Tanya Vanasse, Stewart spokeswoman, said she had no comment. ?It?s all being done between National Ex-press and the Port Authority,? she said.

A National Express spokeswoman in London, after hours, did not return a call.
The Port Authority?s information sheet said that if the board approves the purchase, several approvals would be needed. One is that the New Jersey state Legislature would have to pass a law similar to one in New York that allows an airport to be run by the authority even if it lies outside of the formal boundaries of the Port District, as Stewart does.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration would need to approve.

The state Department of Transportation would need to approve the assignment of the lease to the authority. The department would need to consult with the Stewart Airport Commission, said James Wright, its chairman. The group has already signaled its favor for the authority to take over. But a formal review would be in order, Wright said.
?Assuming it moves ahead as scheduled and planned, it?s the end of privatization, at least for Stewart,? Wright said. ?We really did not see what we expected to see as far as major investment on the part of the operator.?

Governor warm to idea

Gov. Eliot Spitzer would have 10 days after the board?s vote to veto, but appears to like the proposed deal.

?The airports of New York's downstate region are the gateways to our state and the nation, and they are vital to our economic health. We have to ensure their viability, and the Port Authority is the right entity to move us forward,? Spitzer said in a statement.

?Stewart International Airport will provide much needed relief for our three major airports, greatly reduce delays, and help us prepare for inevitable population and passenger growth," Spitzer said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration would need to approve. Stewart was the first, and only, publicly owned airport to be privatized under the pilot program set up by the FAA.

U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, who has advocated for the authority as the new operator, said in a statement that the takeover would be ?extremely good news for the people of the Hudson Valley.?

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said in a statement, ?There is no question that the Port Authority has the expertise and resources to make Stewart a first-class airport.?

NYC skies crowded

The authority?s interest in Stewart stemmed from its search for capacity to relieve the crowded New York City skies.

Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports had a combined passenger load of 104 million in 2006. Officials at the authority expect it to grow to 125 million passengers by 2015.

Stewart had only 300,000, but has enough terminal and related infrastructure to handle 1.5 million fliers. The agency has earmarked nearly $4 billion in its 10-year capital plan to be invested in airports to enable future growth.

National Express paid $35 million and invested a share of the costs for various construction projects. Vanasse recently said the airport had put in $78 million for capital projects, paying anywhere from 5 percent to 30 percent of that from company funds.
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g60dude



Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 1303
Location: Mid-town Lake Katrine

PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not really sure what parts we would loose, but Id imagine some Sad They were saying if everyone approves it, most likely they will, they expect the passenger numbers to jump from currently 300,000 passengers a year to 900,000 in the next couple years.
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robdamanii



Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 349
Location: Darth Bailer

PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My question is if this is protected by the DEC and is a State Forest, then what is the likelihood of a large chunk of it being taken for development?
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lilmort



Joined: 18 Jan 2007
Posts: 98
Location: BBmtB bound

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:38 pm    Post subject: how will this affect us? Reply with quote

I don't think it will have much of an impact on us. There were over 8,000 acres (now about 6,200 acres) that had been turned over by the Governor to the Stewert Preservation Coalition to keep things "green". If anything, it will be noisier and perhaps people may have to check in at a stop point for homeland security (to be sure people can't have any effects on incoming or outgoing flights). They've been planning this merge for quite sometime (many years) and have taken into account the "green" acreage.
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Tim845



Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 3684
Location: Poughkeepsie

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:52 pm    Post subject: Re: how will this affect us? Reply with quote

lilmort wrote:
I don't think it will have much of an impact on us. There were over 8,000 acres (now about 6,200 acres) that had been turned over by the Governor to the Stewert Preservation Coalition to keep things "green". If anything, it will be noisier and perhaps people may have to check in at a stop point for homeland security (to be sure people can't have any effects on incoming or outgoing flights). They've been planning this merge for quite sometime (many years) and have taken into account the "green" acreage.

If and when the expansion deal goes thru, there's no guarantees they wont retry to build the access road again. As the saying goes, ASSUMEing makes an "ass of you and me". Idea
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burtondogs



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 633

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:06 pm    Post subject: Re: How will this affect us? Reply with quote

Quote:
The agency has earmarked nearly $4 billion in its 10-year capital plan to be invested in airports to enable future growth.



Dont be fooled into thinking the forest is saved forever.

With this much money floating around these people will be pushing to build anything & everything.

These are are some greedy bastards.
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