Old base may help ease NYC air traffic

Old base may help ease NYC air traffic
By Jim Fitzgerald - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 30, 2008 6:22:08 EST

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — The passenger terminal at Stewart International Airport used to be a parachute packing plant. One of the entry roads is lined with abandoned, boarded-up military barracks. New York City is more than 60 miles away.

But the former Air Force base has a runway long enough to land a space shuttle, four times as much land as LaGuardia, a half-billion dollars to work with and, perhaps, a bright future as a regional airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is converting the airport into what it hopes will be a state-of-the-art facility that attracts millions of travelers a year while serving as a relief valve for increasing congestion at Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Officials also hope it can be an economic engine for New York.

“Stewart can be kind of a beacon for a lot of things,” said Anthony Shorris, executive director of the Port Authority, which has a 93-year lease on Stewart and runs the other three airports. “An anchor for growth in the Hudson Valley, a major reliever of the other airports, a cargo and job-generating facility for a new economic growth pattern, and a demonstration of the potential for sustainable development in aviation.”

Change is already unmistakable: A new exit off Interstate 84 and wide new access roads now lead to the airport. A 350-space parking lot went up in three weeks and new chairs abound in the baggage claim area.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_airport_080129/