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Airport News: Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion Press Conference

Tue, Feb 12, 2019 • General

Airport News: Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion Press Conference

As a member of the Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion, PEPA is participating in a joint Press Conference. Please mark your calendar to attend!

WHY: The Coalition is calling upon Westchester County, the owner of the airport, to adopt a long term, holistic approach to airport policy and planning that puts its residents’ concerns about the environment, public health and quality of life first. Westchester County Airport is the third busiest airport in NY state, and sits adjacent to the Kensico Reservoir, drinking water source for 9 million people in NYC and Westchester.

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 12 noon

PLACE: The BelleFair Community Room, 18 BelleFair Blvd., Rye Brook, NY 10573.

WHO: Leaders of the Coalition, composed of these organizations:
*       Concerned Citizens for a Responsible County Airport
*       Federated Conservationists of Westchester County (FCWC)
*       Grassroots Environmental Education
*       National Quiet Skies Coalition
*       Purchase Environmental Protective Association (PEPA)
*       Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group
*       Westchester for Change

DIRECTIONS: GPS is not always reliable to this address.
(1) Enter BelleFair from King Street onto BelleFair Blvd.
(2) Follow BelleFair Blvd. up the hill and around the green.
(3) Continue past, and turn right into the BelleFair parking lot.
(4) Walk back along BelleFair Blvd. A sign by the sidewalk points the way to the Community Room.

Additional Background:

In 2016, the former county administration proposed privatizing the airport. That effort appears to have been tabled by the Latimer administration. However, the Business Council of Westchester continues to advocate for privatization, for the interests of airport businesses, and against the interests of local residents negatively impacted by the airport.

In the summer of 2018, the Latimer administration held three public hearings about the airport. The overwhelming message from the public was that the impact of the airport’s operations have worsened and the quality of life for many Westchester residents has deteriorated precipitously. In addition, cancer-causing PFAs have been found in test wells at the airport. The Kensico Reservoir, adjacent to the airport, provides drinking water for over 9 million people in NYC and Westchester.

The Coalition does not advocate that the airport be closed or crippled.

The Coalition’s purpose is to ensure that the county government’s primary objective in making airport policy is to operate the airport in a manner fully consistent with the protection of public health, the environment and preservation of the quality of life of Westchester County. This is particularly important in the context of formulating a new airport master plan and the upcoming renegotiation of the Terminal Use Regulations at the airport.

The Coalition welcomes the Latimer administration’s efforts this past year to reorient its policies and restore the county’s longstanding opposition to expansion at the airport.

Airport News: Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion Press Conference

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