Judge fines East Hampton $250K, holds town in contempt in airport litigation case

A judge has levied a $250,000 fine against East Hampton Town for putting new restrictions on flights at the municipal airport in Wainscott as litigation over the facility's future continues.

The ruling stems from three separate lawsuits aviation interests and Montauk residents filed against the town last year. It is the latest development in an ongoing fight over East Hampton’s effort to close the airport.

The airport long has been a source of aggravation among some East End residents who have complained about constant noise, particularly during summer.

Suffolk County State Supreme Court Justice Paul J. Baisley Jr. found in his decision Friday that the town was in contempt of court for not following his 2022 temporary restraining order barring new restrictions or any steps toward closing East Hampton Town Airport.

The judge said the town's actions “undisputedly … restrict public access to the airport." He also ruled that East Hampton would face a $1,000 fine for each day going forward that town officials fail to comply with his order from May 16, 2022.

"Fair and measured," was how an attorney for the some of the petitioners described the judge's ruling in their favor.

Court papers identify those parties as East End Hangars Inc., Hampton Hangars Inc. and Montauk residents who fear local air traffic will spike if East Hampton's facility closes.

“Actions have consequences and we are hopeful that the town will immediately cease its new use restrictions and comply with the court’s order," their attorney James Catterson added in a statement Monday.

Town officials said Monday they were “deeply disappointed” and vowed to appeal the ruling.

“The town board has always held the belief that it had a public policy responsibility to protect local residents from the loud and disturbing effects of aircraft noise, and has sought to provide residents who are impacted with meaningful and deserved relief,” they added in a statement.

The lawsuits are aimed at halting the town’s plan to temporarily close the public airport and reopen it as a private facility as a way to gain more control over operations. In October, the judge temporarily blocked East Hampton from closing the airport, pending an environmental review.

The town board began that lengthy environmental review earlier this year.

The judge’s decision last week pointed to restrictions on loading and unloading “that limit the number of flights to the airport.” The ruling also said that the town imposed new insurance requirements that added costs to airport use.

In addition, the judge pointed to fueling restrictions that force aircraft to power on and off more frequently, leading helicopters to spend more time grounded.

"The town has moved ahead with new use restrictions as well as the process with the FAA to close the airport completely," Baisley also wrote in his ruling.

The town’s plan to privatize the airport last year led the FAA to change the airport code to JPX, Newsday reported last year.

The FAA assigns each airport a three-letter code "to simplify the identification of a landing facility, navigational aid, weather station or manned air traffic control facility," according to the federal agency.

The town argued in court papers that the judge's 2022 order about not imposing new restrictions or working toward closure only applied to the airport under its previous FAA airport identifier, HTO.

Initially, the town had asked the FAA to halt the code change after Bailey's 2022 order.

Court records show the FAA said it was too late and the airport became JPX on May 19, 2022 — three days after the order.

“We simply cannot undo this,” an FAA official wrote to the town, adding that it would introduce "a major safety issue into this complex airspace system."

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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