Brookhaven Airport (KHWV), Shirley, New York
Town officials are conducting an environmental review of a proposal to remove or trim acres of trees around Brookhaven Calabro Airport, a deforestation project some neighbors say is not needed.
"It's
not a necessary tree removal," said Ray Keenan of the Manor Park Civic
Association, who lives near the 3-acre area the Federal Aviation
Administration has recommended for tree removal. Another 4 acres is
recommended for topping, or pruning, of trees, according to town
Councilman Dan Panico's office, though Keenan believes up to 7 acres may
be topped.
"It's unprecedented that they will be removing up to
people's houses," said Keenan, who won lawsuits in 2010 and 2011
challenging Brookhaven on the tree removal because the town did not do a
mandatory environmental review. "None of this is required."
Because
of the legal challenges, town officials announced recently that the
planning department is conducting an environmental impact review of the
FAA project.
Panico said the tree-trimming project has been
scaled back from 19 acres of clearing and topping; but the FAA
recommended the project as necessary for safety.
"The FAA
regularly does flyovers at airports, and Calabro has an
instrument-landing system," he said. "When planes come in for approach
for landing, the system guides them to land safely. What interferes with
that signal are obstructions between the transponder and the plane, and
the trees have grown over the years."
Panico said he hopes the
community accepts his proposed compromise, to replant 750 trees at the
site, "and if they're kept pruned and trimmed, they won't be totally
removed. Safety is the number one concern," he said. "Trimming the trees
actually makes the airport safer. I think it's important that everyone
understands that we don't support the wholesale removal of the trees."
But
Keenan said the community's opposition to the tree trimming and
clearing is "not only the visual element; but the trees protect the
residents from aircraft."
He pointed to the August fatal crash of
a small plane near the airport that killed the pilot and a passenger.
"Last summer, the trees prevented the plane from hitting the houses,"
Keenan said.
Airport neighbors said the trees also block powerful
winds, which can whip across the tarp. Winds out of the northeast sweep
across hundreds of open acres, and "these are the last few trees here,"
Keenan said.
In a statement, FAA officials said that because
Calabro receives federal funds, it must meet federal safety standards.
"These obligations require them to maintain and operate their facilities
safely and efficiently and in accordance with specified conditions,"
agency officials said.
The airport was awarded grants for
obstruction removal in 2007 for $540,000 and in 2010 for $300,000,
though the projects were put on hold after Keenan sued to halt the tree
clearing.
Source: http://www.newsday.com
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