Suffolk County Lawmakers Look To Tighten Gabreski Restrictions To Limit Amazon's Options

Adding yet another layer to attempts to ensure that the massive Amazon hub planned for the Hampton Business District doesn’t increase traffic at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski is calling for additional oversight.

His bill, co-sponsored by Legislator Bridget Fleming, would require a vote of the full legislature before anyone can seek to change operations at the airport.

A public hearing will be held in Hauppauge on Tuesday, July 26, on a charter law requiring the airport manager to seek legislative approval before making any requests to the FAA for “any operational certification amendments.”

The airport is a county-owned facility and, said Krupski, “it certainly affects my district.”

The North Fork legislator and farmer reported a marked increase in air traffic during the pandemic. He’d see the planes and helicopters over his pumpkin farm in Peconic.

Online retail giant Amazon recently built a mammoth structure in the Hampton Business District at Gabreski, to serve as its “last mile hub” for deliveries.

While the Southampton Town Planning Board conditioned its approval on a prohibition of aviation uses by Amazon, and the Town Board also revised its Planned Development District legislation for the industrial park to add a ban on air cargo uses, “We were very concerned the use there could change,” Krupski said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is the authority there, the lawmaker explained. Despite the town’s efforts, the concern is that the FAA may preempt their conditions and allow for a change in operations.

“They think they can,” Krupski said. “We’ll see if they want to try to push that.”

The town-legislated air cargo bans may not be set in stone, so Krupski looked to see what authority the county, as the landowner, had. The only authority over applications for a change of operations went through the county executive’s office, administratively. Then the county, itself, would have to make the request of the FAA.

“The county would have to make the request,” emphasized Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, the Town Board’s liaison for airport issues. “What this legislation does, it now requires that process to go through the legislature as well. It would require a vote of the legislature for any upgrade for Gabreski Airport.

“What Legislator Krupski is doing is to add this extra step, so the people’s voice can be heard if it comes in the future,” Schiavoni added.

He stressed that no applicant has come forward asking the county for the upgrade. “This is not on the horizon — we’re just putting it in place for posterity,” Schiavoni said.

The Town Board voted last week in support of Krupski’s bill.

Fleming, who represents the South Fork, is a co-sponsor of the bill. She noted that Amazon’s landlords Gregg and Mitchell Rechler amended their lease with Amazon to reflect the aviation prohibition. They adopted a provision barring the aviation use when the county gave them tax incentives to develop the Hampton Business District.

Looking at her colleague’s proposal, Fleming said, “This is another way of ensuring that they wouldn’t be able to expand uses of the airport to a cargo operation to support Amazon. That can’t happen.”

It could happen, but not easily.

A report issued by the Gabreski Community Advisory Board this week noted that for freight and cargo to be added to the operations at Gabreski, Suffolk County would need to file for a Part 139 certificate to allow for such procedures.

To be granted a Part 139 certificate, the facility would require substantial upgrades, and the request would need to be made by Suffolk County. In order to become a certified Part 139 airport, Gabreski would need to undertake a tremendous overhaul of airport facilities, airport staff, airport security, airport fire rescue, airport inspectors, and manuals/plans that would all need to be developed, reviewed and approved by the FAA. “This would take many years,” the report notes.

Without that certification, Gabreski cannot handle commercial or cargo airlines.

Last year, Fleming reestablished an advisory board tasked with analyzing current trends and problems surrounding the airport. Said Schiavoni, who served as vice chairman of the board, “This report issued by the Gabreski Community Advisory Board is a comprehensive look at the history, operations, and options moving forward. It represents our ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life for residents most affected in the area.”

Looking at trends, the report notes the type of aircraft Gabreski Airport sees has been the largest difference in operations over the last few years. Many of the operations have transitioned from smaller corporate jets to large corporate jets. “The transition from small to large corporate jets has increased the noise impact on the local community,” it states.

There was an increase in charter flights during the COVID pandemic, specifically the chartering of corporate jets, the report continues.

While general aviation uses declined from 2014, from 47,528 operations to 40,551 in 2021, operations under the category air carrier/taxi nearly tripled, going from 3,772 in 2014 to 10,399 last year.

The hearing on Krupski’s bill will be held in the Rose Caracappa Auditorium in Hauppauge, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on July 26.