Letters

I read with shock, and then dread, that County Executive Ed Romaine and Signature Air agreed to a $48 million expansion at Gabreski Airport [“Groundbreaking for New $48 Million Terminal and Hangars at Gabreski,” 27east.com, November 6]. According to the article, private aircraft traffic is estimated to increase by 50 percent over 20 years.

Mr. Romaine remarked, “This is going to be an economic shot in the arm. It’s going to create jobs, and it’s going to make Gabreski a more functional airport.”

Terrific. Just what the residents of the area need — a more functional airport.

I’m a 25-year resident of Quogue. Noise pollution generated by private aircraft (most notably and extensively jet aircraft used by the über-wealthy) has increased dramatically over these past 25 years. Quogue, Quiogue, Westhampton Beach and Westhampton are residential areas. We do not need more Lear Jets buzzing our homes at 7 a.m.

Clearly, Mr. Romaine surely doesn’t live in a Gabreski flight path (or else this never would have been approved.) Guess which county executive is not receiving my vote next election?

Finally, where are these new workers supposed to live? The affordable homes on Dune Road? The residents of East Hampton have been able to shut down their airport expansion, but somehow the residents surrounding Gabreski got jammed with their overflow.

A busy airport like this has no business being smack in the middle of these peaceful and peaceable communities. The 0.000001 percent will benefit from this expansion; this is great news if you own a Challenger 650, or a Cessna Citation, but for the rest of us who have to suffer from the summer onslaught of billionaires, this expansion is not so terrific (despite Mr. Romaine’s assurances).

This is such a typical tax-grab expansion. It will only be a matter of time before they open up Gabreski to Amazon aircraft traffic — all in the name of an “economic shot in the arm.”

Truly outrageous.

James Smith

Quogue