What closing the Brookhaven Airport means to you

Unfortunately whenever an accident happens, those that chose to live next to an airport are given a voice through the local media to voice their concerns on closing the airport. First, the airport has been operational since World War II and the residents that live next to the airport moved there knowing that the airport was there and operational. More importantly though, people do not see what negative impact closing the airport would mean to the Town of Brookhaven and the local community. 

First, we need to look at the businesses that operate at the airport. The largest tenant is Dowling College. If the airport were to close, Dowling would have to shut down their College of Aviation which is actually generating revenue at a time when most local colleges are in deep financial trouble. Most all the employees at the Brookhaven branch would be laid off and the college would lose a considerable amount of money. Mid-Island Flight School which operates at both Brookhaven and Islip would also shut down and move their operations to Islip, again laying off more local people who are employed there. There are other smaller businesses like a paint shop, Northeast AirPark, and aircraft maintenance businesses who would all go out of business laying people off and losing revenue to the Town which is desperately needed.

Secondly, all the money that has been provided to the Town of Brookhaven by the FAA for Airport Improvement Project (AIP) funds would have to be returned to the FAA. This would cost the Town millions of taxpayer's dollars in money that the FAA has released and earmarked for the Brookhaven Airport. 

Because of a few people who willingly and knowingly moved next to the Brookhaven Airport and now want it closed because of noise or safety concerns, have you also though about closing the William Floyd Parkway, LIE, or Sunrise because of the same issues? Think of all the people who would lose their jobs (including our Town employees) and those local businesses that rely on the airport, not to mention closing a local college campus. Many more people enjoy and support the Brookhaven Airport that those that do not, but sometimes their voice is not heard.