Give 'Til It Hurts

There's something to be said for appeasement, and it's this: it rarely works. The classic case is British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's attempt to head off Adolf Hitler's threats to go to war if his demands for Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland region of what is now the Czech Republic were not met.

In exchange for Hitler's promise not to attempt any more territorial gains in Europe, Chamberlain persuaded the Czechs to cede the Sudetenland to Germany.

Less than one year later, Hitler invaded Poland and World War II had begun.

And yet, to this very day there are folks out there who defend appeasement as the way to go. "Just give 'em what they want, and they won't ask for anything else." Yeah, right.

To hear the Town of East Haven say it, you'd think they were being bullied by the City of New Haven, with Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport as the city's cudgel. That they get nothing from Tweed.

But here's what they don't tell you:

The town enjoys tax revenues from Robinson Aviation, the fixed base operator located on the East Haven side of the airport. And while the 1983 agreement between New Haven and East Haven called for the town to remit its revenues from aircraft taxes to the city, more often than not, it didn't.

In 1979, the town purchased surplus airport land from the city at bargain basement prices to complete its industrial park, the same industrial park with which the town nearly succeeded in luring Olin-Winchester out of New Haven. (Talk about selling them the rope to hang you!)

During the administration of East Haven mayor April Capone, the town sold land that it couldn't use to the Airport Authority for a hefty sum. How hefty? After the purchase was complete, Mayor Capone proudly announced that the town's deficit had turned into a surplus! (It should be noted that one Town Council member wanted an addendum to the deal stipulating the airport not use the land in perpetuity. Think about it: Would you buy a house on the condition that you don't live in it? Or a car provided you don't drive it?)

Then there was the disastrous 2009 Memorandum of Agreement in which New Haven mayor John DeStefano all but gave away the store: the runway would stay at 5,600 feet, with caps on customer boardings, flights and parking, with greater East Haven representation on the Airport Authority. East Haven's only obligation was to allow the Runway 2-20 safety overruns to be built, something which the airport would have won in court anyway.

Since Avelo Airlines arrived at Tweed in 2021, they have been hosting job fairs to hire local talent, including one job fair at East Haven's Hagaman Memorial Library, literally across the street from Town Hall.

And now...

Now, the Airport Authority and Avports have announced that the new 84,000 square-foot passenger terminal will be located on the East Haven side of the field, meaning out of town visitors who land at Tweed will see East Haven first before crossing the Tomlinson or the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge to New Haven.

Can you imagine how much more East Haven stands to gain with the new terminal and parking on their side?

But wait, there's more.

In January, Avports announced that they would be expanding its office space, moving into a 4,771-square-foot office space at 100 Sound Shore Drive in East Haven, a $250,000 commitment. More business for the town. Are the town fathers happy? Well, sort of.

"Anytime there are job opportunities for East Haven residents, that is a positive thing," said Assistant Director of Administration and Management Ed Sabatino.

Wait for it.

"At the same time, his (Mayor Joe Carfora's) responsibility is to protect the entire community."

And there you have it; even with the promise of additional employment and more tax revenues for the town, they still can't bring themselves to reach out and try to find common ground on regulatory, environmental and infrastructure issues.

And I haven't even touched on how well the residents around the airport have made out.

For openers, when Air Wisconsin began service to Tweed in 1985, approval was granted because a noise ordinance was also put in place limiting the decibel output of jet aircraft. Air Wisconsin subsequently left but the noise ordinance stayed.

The Airport Authority and Avports have also done studies regarding the noise "footprint" around Tweed and those homes which may be impacted. Those that fell within the footprint were noise-proofed by the airport at no cost to the homeowners.

And yet...

Yet, despite all of the above, the town and the residents continue to play the "victim" card.

The town continues to claim the airport costs them money. Well, it has, sort of: The Carfora administration has paid out in excess of $250,000 for "legal consultants" for litigation in their and Save The Sound's lawsuit challenging the airport's Environmental Assessment study, with no guarantee of victory. Meanwhile, Team Carfora has resorted in enticing businesses to locate in East Haven with a 50% tax break. Not surprisingly, the town's tax rate went up two mills in 2024.

The residents decry the possible loss of their property values. (These are the same people who declare that "somebody's making money" at Tweed.) Yet, no one---no one---has come forward with bills of sale showing what they paid for their house versus for what it sold. Maybe they didn't get the price they wanted, but rest assured, they always came out ahead.

And now, the Gotterdamerung has come upon us.

On April 8th, an announcement was made by airport management, New Haven and East Haven that yet another agreement was reached which, like the first two, went heavily East Haven's way:

$40 million in state funding for public safety facilities in East Haven.

An annual Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) to East Haven of $4.4 million (with $2.9 million going to New Haven), indexed to inflation.

State infrastructure funding of $5 million for both municipalities.

$3 million for noise mitigation.

Any and all airport proposals subject to review and approval by the East Haven Planning & Zoning Commission.

The Airport Authority will include 7 members from East Haven to go with the 8 from the New Haven area.

And what is expected of East Haven in all this? In a word, nothing!

In short, East Haven hit the jackpot.

And are the neighbors happy? Not one bit. No, they're kvetching that "Carfora sold us down the river!" That there is "heartbreak." Don't be surprised. Their version of "compromise" is total victory, with the airport to be closed forever.

The Chinese have a saying: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

Does anyone know if the Chinese have a saying for "fool me three times?