Joe Carfora's Dangerous Game

In "10,000 Hawks...And One Maguffin," I made reference to Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 classic film, "Gaslight," particularly as it applies to East Haven mayor Joseph A. Carfora.

For those not familiar with the movie, a husband attempts to manipulate his wife, all but driving her insane by denying what she has seen and heard.

The film's impact was such that to "gaslight" found its way into the English language, meaning to deny that a specific event took place. (We've been seeing it lately from individuals downplaying their actions during the COVID pandemic, and more recently from those news platforms denying that Vice President Kamala Harris was ever the "border czar.")

So, why Joseph Carfora?

On a fine spring day in 2021, Mayor Carfora stood with other public officials on the tarmac at Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport and publicly declared that the airport's proposed new passenger terminal would "be built by East Haven businesses and East Haven labor," as well it should be.

Some time after that, 50 members of the 10,000 Hawks, a mostly White group of airport opponents assembled in front of East Haven Town Hall to protest the airport's plans, which, I might add, included an Environmental Assessment, the purpose of which ensures that the airport complies with any sensitive environmental issues. And just like that, Mayor Carfora's pledge regarding the terminal was nowhere to be found.

In December of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration gave full approval to the Environmental Assessment, meaning that Tweed's improvements would have little if any effect on the surrounding environment. The approval, however, came with a 90-day appeal period, meaning that any party who felt the EA was in error, could appeal the decision. Save The Sound, a group more concerned with Tuttle Brook and Morris Creek near Tweed than with the Mill and Quinnipiac Rivers in New Haven, filed just such an appeal, with Mayor Carfora and the town signing on as well.

Can Mayor Carfora stand prosperity? I'm beginning to wonder.

I spent time going over the mayor's 2024 State of the Town speech and found some rather curious messages.

The mayor talked of "growth," and "making the tough decisions," the kind of things you would expect a public official to say.

But then he spoke of "unfunded mandates," which he defined as mandatory projects put forth by a higher government (state or Federal) the town must undertake with no accompanying funding to help the town . He included affordable housing and Tweed-New Haven Airport.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Since when is an airport owned by New Haven and managed by Avports an unfunded mandate for East Haven? What state or Federal body ordered East Haven to spend as much as one dime on airport improvements? The runway lengthening and terminal construction are Avports's responsibility, not East Haven's.

The mayor went on to praise the town's public works department for providing for the residents' "safety and well-being" with "crucial drainage, mitigating flooding risk, and improving water management." Oh? Then why is it the airport is to blame for the regular flooding of Hemingway and Coe Avenues after a significant rain? And, seeing as that's a state road, shouldn't he be putting the spurs to the town's state delegation to push Hartford to take action?

But the crux of his speech centered on the monumental deal the town made with the Town of North Branford, wherein North Branford would pay East Haven $137,000 to take that town's animals into their animal shelter.

Carfora praised the venture as "an opportunity to think outside the box," one that "benefits both communities," and provides a consistent revenue stream" to the town. He went on to call it "a robust partnership" with "the unity and cooperation that defines our region."

Just one thing, though: In the town's resistance to airport improvements, they hired "airport legal experts" which as of this writing have already cost the town somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000. That's right, the $137,000 they got from North Branford has already been spent, and then some.

Funny, isn't it? The man who boasts of "regional cooperation" and "making the tough decisions" can't quite see that East Haven would stand to benefit the most from an improved Tweed. How?

Let's look at parking. The plans for the terminal call for a 4,000-space parking area. Let's say for purposes of discussion that the town gets a royalty of $1.00 per day for every car parked at the airport, with a 2,500-space minimum. Even with the minimum of 2,500 cars, over the course of the year, the town stands to earn $912,500 for doing literally nothing. With the maximum 4,000 spaces, that total jumps to $1,460,000. A far cry from the $137,000 they're getting from North Branford, to feed, care for and dispose of their animals.

Now, let's look at concession rentals. The new terminal will be somewhere in the area of 70,000 square feet, larger than the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. If, say, 20,000 square feet is allotted for concessions (restaurants, gift shops, etc), and East Haven gets $5.00 per square foot per month, that's another $1,200,000 per year for the town. Again, with the town doing little more than just sitting back and watching. Avports would manage the parking lot and the terminal, with plenty of able-bodied East Haveners nearby who would at last have jobs where they wouldn't have to cross the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge.

Lastly, the town could lobby the state to reconfigure its PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) program, seeing as there would be more town land that would be off the tax rolls with the construction of the new terminal. At last report, the state was paying the town $462,000 a year. That should be increased, and, like the terminal and parking fees, subject to regular review.

Add to all this the tax revenues the town receives from Robinson Aviation, the airport's fixed base operator which provides support services for the general aviation community.

So, why isn't Mayor Carfora in negotiations with Avports and the Airport Authority?

Fellow airport follower Steve Pappas presents a rather intriguing look at what the mayor has said, and, just as important, what he hasn't said.

To be fair, unlike many of his predecessors who voiced vehement opposition to Tweed, Mr. Carfora has chosen to carefully craft his words. He has said that he cannot agree with airport improvements "at this time," and advocates a "fair and equitable" partnership between the airport and the town. Understandably, he wants to emerge from this the "hero," bringing the town the best deal, though he is rather unclear as to what that form that would take.

I have to wonder if the mayor secretly hopes the town's appeal with Save The Sound fails. At least then he can go back to that small minority of airport opponents and say, "Well, we gave it our best shot, but we fell short."

I say a "small minority" because while there are many people who live within the immediate vicinity of the airport, it is a relatively small core of "bitter enders" in this town of 30,000 who raise their voice.

When Mr. Carfora's Republican opponent, Samantha Parlatto, challenged him in the last election, she did a survey of East Haveners' concerns. 54.5% were in favor of the airport extending the runway versus 30.6% opposed, and 48% were in favor of the new terminal versus 30% opposed.

Moreover, her survey showed Tweed as ranking #4 in the top five issues of importance to East Haven voters. Not surprisingly, "taxes" came in at #1. Gee, where do you think the town could get some extra money to offset those taxes?

Apparently, time has shown that airport opposition isn't the zeitgeist it was in the past.

Mr. Carfora is playing what I consider a dangerous game if he chooses to wait on the appeal's fate. As the saying goes, you negotiate from a position of strength, not weakness. While the appeal process is active, he can still sit down with Authority Executive Director Tom Rafter and Avports CEO Jorge Roberts and at least lay the foundation for what would be an agreement, with Avports and the Authority mindful the appeal may be successful. He would at least have that going for him.

Because what if the appeal fails? Or, what if the appeal leads to an Environmental Impact Statement (which Save The Sound wants), and the EIS agrees with the Environmental Assessment? Then what does the mayor bring to the table? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Bupkis. A denied appeal would give Avports no incentive to "sweeten the pot." Mr. Carfora himself has already admitted that the airport can extend the runway without the town's approval because all work will be done completely within New Haven city limits. And what reason would the town have to deny the terminal building permits? The environment? That issue will have been settled. And this time, Mr. Carfora will not have the luxury his two Democrat predecessors had in forging a deal with a New Haven mayor sympathetic to the Morris Cove. He'll be dealing with Avports and the Airport Authority only.

Mayor Carfora would do well to look at the administration of fellow Democrat Henry Luzzi, who was mayor of East Haven in the early 1990's. Mr. Luzzi cooperated with the airport management, even going so far as to help the airport secure a jet bridge. And guess what? He was re-elected. Twice! Constituents were pleased with the overall well-being of the town and overlooked his pro-Tweed overtures.

To all this let me add that Mr. Carfora's Economic Development Director, Michelle Benivenga, recently resigned her post to take a similar (and, I imagine, less challenging) position with the town of Clinton. (Sidebar: Ms. Benivenga's predecessor, Raymond Baldwin, did not stay long, either. He appeared to lean toward an airport-town partnership, so much so that an anti-airport Economic Development Commission member resigned. And while I have no concrete proof as to why Mr. Baldwin departed, I suspect he either resigned in frustration failing to sway the higher powers to work with the airport or was forced out.)

There is is something of a schizophrenic element in the mayor's stance on the airport and how it conflicts with his policy of economic growth; he's trying to present himself to those hard-liners as being "tough" on Tweed, while at the same time trying to present the town as an incubator for economic growth, even going so far as to present a 50% tax break to businesses willing to locate there. Hey, somebody has to make up the difference. Could that be why the town raised taxes two mills, conveniently in an "off" year?

And what do you suppose he or members of his Economic Development team tell prospective businesses when they ask about Tweed? "Well, we're against it, but hey, there's a great airport just an hour's drive up the road where you can fly anywhere!"? Deal breaker!

He's already "gaslighted" us pro-airport folks. Does he "gaslight" prospective business tenants next? And will he eventually "gaslight" those rock-ribbed airport opponents who want no improvements to Tweed?

Mister Mayor, don't be "different things to different people." Be the same thing to all people.

Joseph Carfora has a tremendous opportunity to provide East Haven with a strong, steady revenue stream, now, and in the foreseeable future...if he's willing to make the tough decision and take that all-important step to work with Messrs. Rafter and Roberts for a partnership where everyone benefits.