Commission OKs airport transfer
By KATHY KAHN

With the stroke of a pen ­ but not before it spent an hour in executive session ­ the Stewart Airport Commission gave the necessary blessing for the transfer of the airport’s lease from National Express Group to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The commission is the advisory group for the airport’s landlord, the state Department of Transportation (DOT). The permission was a requirement to seal the deal.

Lawyer Marie Corrado, administrative policy and services director for the DOT, said changes made to the existing lease were “only essential changes … any procedure or word that would stop the Port Authority from operating unlawfully are removed.”

Drew Kartiganer, a commission member, asked if the changes were legal. “Yes,” said Corrado, explaining the new lease being prepared needed to be amended to empower the Port Authority, a tax-exempt agency, to sell bonds. All oversight agencies, including the governor, attorney general, DOT and others are working concurrently on the new lease to expedite its completion before the Nov. 1 deadline. It is expected the new lease will have several revisions, although details were sketchy as to what those revisions might entail.

The transfer is slated for Nov. 1.

According to Corrado, the Port Authority will keep all PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) programs currently in place at the airport, working out the details of existing PILOT programs with Newburgh and New Windsor. “It is one of our biggest priorities,” said Corrado.

Changes are coming to the personnel at the airport. Former airport manager Charles Seliga, a former general manager for JFK Airport who retired from the Port Authority and who had been managing the airport, will not be part of the new Stewart team. Port Authority officials declined to make any other employee changes public.

The Port Authority has the right to have its own police patrolling the airport. It says the state police, who have a barracks on airport grounds, are doing a good job and have had a good relationship with the Port Authority. The state police role may or may not continue when the airport changes hands.

Stewart Airport Commission chief James Wright called for a resolution for the Port Authority’s board of directors to appoint a commission member to the PA board. Whether it will happen, says Wright, “only time will tell.” Wright was reappointed as chairman of the commission for a 10-year term by Gov. George Pataki prior to his departure from the governor’s mansion.

The Port Authority is expected to sign the lease Oct. 31 and become Stewart’s official gatekeeper Nov. 1. Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris will speak about the signing at the Patterns for Progress dinner Nov. 1 at Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor.

 

 

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