Montauk Airport in eastern Long Island has been purchased by a private buyer, after multiple attempts by the Town of East Hampton to acquire it.
Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc responded to last week’s sale of the privately owned airport. He said the town had been in negotiations since 2019, and had completed the first of three appraisals for the property.
The purchase would have helped to address complaints from the community about noise, environmental issues, and increased summer traffic in the area.
The seller’s preferred structure for the transaction was not possible for the town, and despite alternative suggestions, the sale eventually fell through.
This comes after the closure of East Hampton Town Airport, which failed to transition from public to private earlier this month.
Some pilots have said shuttering the airport in Wainscott would likely create more traffic at other eastern Long Island airports, like Montauk.