Appellate Court rules against attempt to close East Hampton Airport

The New York State Appellate Division, Second Department has ruled that Supreme Court got it right—the Town of East Hampton is not permitted to close the East Hampton Airport and impose onerous restrictions curtailing its use without first complying with state and federal law.

The Second Department ruled that the Town had “failed to comply with the applicable procedural requirements” of federal law, which “applied to the Town’s determination to close the airport as a public use airport and reopen it a few days later as a private use airport.” The Court has made abundantly clear that the Town cannot simply close the airport once it has completed its state environmental analysis, as it has maintained for the last two years.

Arguing on behalf of hangar associations East End Hangars and Hampton Hangars, James M. Catterson of the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP stated, “The Town sought to convince the appellate court that previous rulings that prevented them from closing the airport were wrong. The court’s unequivocal decision is consistent with every previous court decision which has denied the Town motions and a reminder that the Town has been held in contempt in its lawfare against this airport.”

A lengthy list of losses

The previous eight years of court decisions reveal the Town has repeatedly misunderstood, overstepped, or simply ignored federal law. In November 2016, the Second Circuit held that the Town’s unilateral imposition of noise and access restrictions violated federal law. In early 2022, the Town tried to temporarily shut down the airport to skirt the Second Circuit’s ruling and impose the same noise and access restrictions. But a state court saw through the Town’s ruse, and, in October 2022, that same court held the Town violated state law and federal law in its plan to close-and-reopen the airport and entered a permanent injunction to block the Town from closing the airport without complying with both state and federal law. The appellate court has now reaffirmed that decision.

Catterson noted, “Despite multiple attempts to appeal the state court’s decisions, the Town has lost at every turn. In May of 2023, a state court held the Town in contempt for the second time in two years and ordered the Town to pay attorneys’ fees. The appellate court upheld that finding of contempt.”

An opportunity for a “clean slate”

He concluded, “The Town is hemorrhaging money because the Town Board refuses to discuss appropriate compromise alternatives outside of the courthouse. One would hope this new administration would seize the opportunity to start with a `clean slate’ and chart a new course that addresses all parties’ concerns.”

According to a review of their own budget documents, the Town of East Hampton spent $1.32 million on “outside professionals” relating to the airport in 2021, $4.45 million in 2022, $2.29 million in 2023, and are projecting $1.22 million in 2024, for a total of approximately $9.28 million.

Many airports function with voluntary flight restrictions that seek to address the concerns of residential neighbors. Pursuing that path, many in the East Hampton aviation community pledged to voluntarily alter flight operations as part of a compromise proposal submitted long ago to the Town Board.

“I am confident that the aviation community hopes this latest court decision opens the door to the type of discussion that will lead to a prompt resolution of this long-running legal dispute,” offered Catterson.