Gothamist: Port Authority Gains Stewart Airport

andrew

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:41:43 -0500

Am I the only one who thinks that we're spending *way* too much money on airports compared to other forms of transportation, especially when the airlines are privately funded? That said, in the grand scheme of things, $78 million seems like a bargain. On that note, I think that this will more likely cut into LaGuardia and JFK's traffic instead of Newark. Although LaGuardia has some pretty major faults, it's never felt particularly crowded the times I've flown out of it. Newark's *always* crowded (and expensive)

Patrick

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:22:27 -0500

Actually you are on to something "epc". Stewart has the longest "official" runway in America. (the longest "unofficial" runway is Area 51) The Hudson Valley is a hot spot for UFO sightings and the theories are that Stewart AIR FORCE BASE was a testing ground for experimental crafts used by the military. You need a long runway when you don't know how the plane will land, right? The sightings in the Hudson Valley have dipped in the last 10 years probably due to Stewart going public.

Dave H.

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:19:55 -0500

Yeah, the Salisbury Mills/Cornwall stop on NJTransit's Main line is 5 miles from Stewart. A dedicated train going from Penn St. to the airport could get there pretty quick.

hiiii

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:41:10 -0500

Toby, actually there is a stop on NJ Transit/Metro-North at Salisbury Mills, which is roughly 10-15 minutes away. Additionally, there is bus service from Beacon to Stewart.

epc

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:35:20 -0500

For a time in the early 1990s American, United and Delta all had regular flights from SWF to Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, and points in Florida. When IBM cut down from 50,000+ employees in the area the airlines cut back and eventually left entirely. There's various freight lines that run through Newburgh, it might be possible to build a spur off one of those that links into the Port Jervis line. It has one of the longest runways for a commercial airport. The east-west strip is allegedly an alternate landing spot for the space shuttle.

Jen

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:31:44 -0500

Yeah - I think the hope is that a lot more cargo can be sent there, too.

bklynbee

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:26:56 -0500

Toby, I don't think it's meant to be used primarily by city dwellers. I think by expanding this airport, people who live in the Hudson Valley area (Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, etc etc) can use that airport rather than having to travel all the way to Newark, JFK, or LaGuardia. After all there are millions of people who live in that region (and I'd say 90% of them drive and own cars)

Toby

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:19:44 -0500

Lets see, the nearest rail stop is across the river in Beacon on Metro-North's Hudson Line. Is the PANYNJ going to build rail link from there? Probably not. Something really needs to be done to make the place easily accessable!