Airport expansion lawsuit dismissed

JFK runway to be enlarged by 728 feet

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The Port Authority planned runway expansion at John F. Kennedy International Airport can proceed after a federal Manhattan court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Eastern Queens Alliance (EQA), Inc. against the Port Authority. The court stated the lawsuit’s objections were unfounded or without merit.

In a Dec. 23 ruling, a panel of three judges from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals said that “each of EQA’s objections, however, were either forfeited because it was not brought to the agency’s attention during the public comment period… or is unfounded based on our review of the record.”

Tamara Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Queens Alliance, said that this statement was inaccurate. “All points argued in the appeal were concerns submitted by EQA and its member civics submitted in the comment period. We know it’s a hefty document, but if someone took the time out to read it, the points are there. We did not expect the courts to come back with a decision so quickly. We felt that once again the little people were quickly dismissed and the big agencies won due to blind deference and borderline nepotism.”

Larry Hoppenhauer, a Town and Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC) trustee from Malverne explained the reason for the lawsuit, which he thought focused on the environmental impact surrounding the airport. “The lawsuit filed by Eastern Queens Association was based on the premise that the proper environmental impacts studies weren't conducted regarding the impact of noise on the communities that were now going to be that much closer to the runway,” he said. One also has to think of the safety issues with planes landing and departing closer to densely populated communities.”

On the northern side of runway 4L/22R, 728 feet will be added. Kendall Lampkin, executive director of TVASNAC, thinks that the runway expansion is needed to accommodate larger airplanes. “The real question was in the roll out of the expansion,” he said. His thinking is that the Port Authority should include the public, especially stakeholder groups such as his and the EQA in the planning process.  

Mitchell said that her group is weighing their options about what to do next. “We plan on enacting change through the powers of local and hopefully national legislation,” she said. “The denial of our appeal has not broken our morale; in fact, it has motivated us more to seek change. We are determined to stand up for our community and let the Port Authority know that we are a community that will not lay idly by and be walked all over.”

Have an opinion about JFK runway expansion? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.