Port Authority claims early progress at Stewart
By KATHY KAHN

Bill DeCota, director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, claimed to have accomplished more in 46 days running Stewart International Airport than the airport’s previous managers accomplished in seven years.

Even allowing for hyperbole and overlooking the day-to-day tasks assumed by the National Express Group during its tenure running the airport, the statement reflects the can-do zeitgeist that has descended on the airport and its environs recently like a fully loaded cargo plane.

DeCota has made several appearances in Orange County, but spoke in his official capacity for the first time at a breakfast held at Goshen’s Harness Racing Museum Dec. 10. Sponsored by the Orange County Citizens Foundation, most of the attendees were county power brokers who have been watching Stewart with a keen eye on its bottom line now that Port Authority is in charge.

While DeCota liberally sprinkled wry comments on the breakfast gathering, he spoke in earnest about Stewart’s potential and the years it spent, he said, being underutilized by its former overseer, National Express Group.

“They (National Express) spent a total $16 million in seven years of their own money in the airport’s infrastructure,” said DeCota. “In just 46 days, we have gotten more accomplished and plan to move ahead to make Stewart a strong regional airport.”

Will people be driving north from the New York City metropolitan area to use the new fourth airport? Highly unlikely, said DeCota. But with 11 million people living or working within one hour of New Windsor, Stewart will become a very attractive alternative to overburdened LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark airports. And while there will be no “one seat ride” from Newburgh into mid-town Manhattan ­ “the cost would be so astronomical; I wouldn’t be able to put a dollar amount on it,” said DeCota ­ a train link between Stewart and the Salisbury Mills station is an attainable goal.

A plan to bring rail service linking Salisbury Mills with the airport was first introduced more than two years ago and is moving from feasibility study to an alternative analysis and environmental impact statement, said DeCota. “Our goal is to grow public transportation and working with the MTA to make improvements on the west of the Hudson line will help local transportation and make it possible to get to Stewart without having to drive.”

Stewart has 21 flights a day, compared to JFK’s 2,000, and its seven airlines pale in comparison to the more than 100 that fly out of JFK. DeCota said carriers who fly out of the Port Authority’s major airports can find Stewart part of a very attractive package, but “we have no other carriers lined up as yet. We did get Skybus, and they asked to be here. We didn’t have to offer them an incentive to come in, as the airport’s former ‘spouse’ did.”

It will take the Port Authority some time to develop its long-range plans for Stewart’s 2,400 acres and the potential it offers. “When it (the PA) bought Idelwild in 1948, it was a swamp,” said DeCota.

That “swamp” carried more than 42 million passengers last year and moved 1.7 million tons of cargo in 2006.

One disheartening piece of news came out of an otherwise upbeat assessment of the Port Authority’s plans to partner with the community. The new Stewart Advisory Panel is going to be off limits to both the press and public.

Maureen Radl is one of the 20 to 30 members of the new panel. Her environmental group, Ulsterites Fight Overflight Noise, will be one of the advisory panel members. She stated in an e-mail she hoped the panel would be open to the public. James Wright, chairman of the Stewart Airport Commission, has also been asked to join the group.

When contacted to comment about the closed meetings, Wright seemed surprised at the decision but declined to say more until he finds out why. “I want to hear their reasoning behind keeping the press and public out before I say anything.” Wright and the Stewart Airport Commission had asked on two separate occasions that the advisory panel be a public forum. Its first meeting will be on Jan. 22.

 

 

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