East Hampton Approves Airport Closure, At Work On New Rules

East Hampton Town lawmakers voted unanimously on Thursday, January 20, to inform the Federal Aviation Administration that the town will close East Hampton Airport on February 28.

The town’s action — which had been announced two days prior and was approved in a simple resolution stating that the closure would have no environmental impact requiring more in-depth analysis under state law — simultaneously introduced a proposal to open what will legally be considered a new airport three days later, on March 3.

When the “new” airport opens it will be designated a private airport, which will give the town authority over what flights may come and go. Under the current designation as a public general aviation airport, which it has been since the 1930s, only the FAA may place restrictions on flights.

The Town Board has said it will impose a “prior permission required” system that will mandate every flight into the airport have specific permission to land, allowing the town to decide, unilaterally, the number and types of aircraft that may use the airport.

Board members have said that they intend to enact new restrictions on flights that will be aimed at drastically reducing the noise impacts of the airport on the neighborhoods beneath the approach routes to the airport.

Helicopters, especially those operated by commercial charter companies, are expected to be in the crosshairs of the new rules, though elected officials say they are still exploring a variety of options for restrictions.

Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said the town will have the new rules in place by early May, ahead of the historical leap in aircraft traffic that comes with the start of the summer season on Memorial Day weekend.

The supervisor said this week that the rules chosen by the Town Board will be imposed by a simple resolution and are not subject to public hearing requirements, but that the town will hold public discussions on the new rules once they have been unveiled and ahead of their adoption.

Board members said that they have already begun discussing a wide variety of options that must each be balanced between the goal of reducing noise around East Hampton Airport without causing new noise impacts in other areas, like Montauk.

“We have to work quickly and the improvement to noise impacts have to be meaningful, but we do have to take care with the unintended consequences,” Councilwoman Cate Rogers, the board’s newest member, said this week. “Striking that right balance is absolutely critical. We’re very busy on that already, these will not be knee-jerk reactions. The community has been asking for solutions for a very long time and it’s time that they got them.”