The Town of East Hampton on Long Island will begin the process of permanently closing its airport. This comes after the town failed to convert the facility from public to private.
Officials said a “mountain of litigation” prevented the town from implementing the proper regulations to make East Hampton Airport a private-use-only facility.
The goal was to appease residents who have been complaining about noise and traffic for decades. The new “prior permission required” framework was meant to be a compromise — it would allow the airport to continue to operate, but with a limited number of planes.
Lawsuits from pilots claimed the criteria to use the airport was confusing, far too expensive and undermined federal policy. A temporary restraining order issued by a New York State Supreme Court justice brought the plan to a halt.
Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc has said before that if the airport was not meeting the original goal of addressing complaints from residents, it would be closed.
Some pilots said shuttering the airport in Wainscott would likely create more traffic at other airports on eastern Long Island.
