N.C. Leg. David Mejias (D-Massapequa), joined Babylon Town officials from Babylon Town and members of the Ironworkers local in condemning Republic Airport for allowing construction of a hangar on airport property by Atlantic Aviation to move forward. The town maintains the hanger is being built without adequate environmental protections, and is preparing to file a lawsuit against it, while the union claims the hangar is being built without employing union workers.

Airport officials, however, said the charges are simply wrong and that every legal requirement of the states SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) laws, have been reviewed and applied.

"They (Republic Airport officials) never cease to amaze me with their arrogance and deception," said Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone as he stood with Matthew Chartrand, a spokesman for the Ironworkers Local 361, along Route 109, a few hundred yards from the site of the hangar. In the background, steel girders rose and it was clear the construction was well underway. "It is apparent that this airport is doing everything it can do to avoid meeting the town in court."

"We have had this plan reviewed by our environmental analysts in Albany and the attorneys and they have all agreed that we have followed the letter of the law," said Airport Director Hugh Jones. "We have nothing to hide."

Mejias said that the issues of safety, noise and expansion involving Republic Airport, go beyond Babylon’s borders, which is why he attended the press conference.

"I want to organize the people of my district and educate them so they understand that the concerns being raised here in Babylon have an impact on our communities as well," said Mejias. "We want to work to put pressure on our state officials to ensure that Republic officials give us some answers."

When reached for comment, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto said: "At this time, the best interests of the Town of Oyster Bay are served by continuing to carefully monitor the situation."

Mejias doesn’t agree and said he would be reaching out to Venditto as well as Sen. Chuck Fuschillo, bringing them some of the concerns he’s heard from his constituents about ever-increasing noise and air traffic.

"This airport has to become a good neighbor," he said. "We are not saying to close the airport, but we did not sign on to live near a MacArthur or a LaGuardia."

Babylon initially passed legislation in January calling on the airport to complete its long overdue master plan and to address community concerns about expansion there. Several weeks ago, the Town learned that the airport had approved construction of a new hanger. It had not notified the Town, which it is not required to do by law, and had declared that the construction would have no impact on the environment and did not need a complete environmental review.

The Town disagreed, and filed a letter in August under the state’s freedom of information laws asking the Department of Transportation, which runs the airport, for documents related to that building plan, including a draft environmental assessment report for construction of the two-story hangar and an environmental assessment plan, together with documents that formed the basis of the airport’s determination that the construction would have no significant impact on the environment.

The Town’s attorney, Nixon Peabody LOP followed up on that request August 11, September 9, September 16 and October 1. The only response the Department of Transportation made was a letter on August 12, saying it would take the department three to four weeks to determine if the records are available.

"Clearly they are stalling in the hope that the statute of limitations for us to file our legal challenge expires in mid-October," said Bellone who added that the Town was now prepared to take the next step: filing a lawsuit in State Supreme Court this week asking for the release of the records and an immediate halt to the construction.

Not so, said Jones, who maintains that the request by the Town’s attorneys to the state was so broad that it requires the compilation of thousands of pages of documents that have to be copied and reviewed by the DOT’s attorney’s before they are released. He maintains that the issue is another example of the breakdown in cooperation between the airport and the town under Bellone’s leadership.

"All the Town had to do was call me up and say they wanted to review the documents and they could have stopped by and looked at all of the documentation we had," said Jones. "Our files are wide open to anyone from Town government who wants to look at them, but they have already made up their minds that we did not act properly and within the law."

Chartrand said his union is looking into whether the airport is permitting violations of prevailing wage laws "designed to protect working families."

"We have not been able to get any answers from the airport or this company about who is working on the project and what the pay scale is," said Chartrand. "The state is required by law to pay prevailing wages as well as comply with state and OSHA (federal) safety laws but it’s disgraceful that they are not ensuring the quality of the workmanship at this facility by using union employees." His union represents approximately 60 active members.

One union member who joined the group pointed to a fuel supply area adjacent to the site. "That’s a safety hazard and we don’t even know what they are doing about it," he said angrily. "Obviously, the public needs answers."

Answers to those claims came from Jones as well who said the hangar is being built on public property, Republic Airport, by a private company, and that they are not required by law to use union workers. In any case, he said the airport has reviewed all of the plans extensively and has monitored the construction to ensure it is safe and meets all building codes and other regulations. "Everything is being done according to the rules that we have had in place at the airport for 20 some odd years," said Jones.