The Republic Airport commission has reelected its current chairman, Frank A. Nocerino of North Massapequa to that leadership position and returned Republic Airport Commission member Gerard Toner of West Babylon as the group’s vice chairman.

The Board’s unanimous vote underscores the leadership role both men continue to play in ensuring that Republic remains Long Island’s crucial air bridge to a global economy. As a general aviation facility supporting corporate jets and hundreds of privately owned aircraft, the airport remains one of the top three busiest airports in the state.

New York State Department of Transportation Region Director Subimal Chakraborti, P.E., stated "New York’s general aviation community has two dynamic leaders in Frank Nocerino and Gerry Toner. The professionals at Republic who work daily to ensure that this airport is able to meet the aviation needs of Long Island are proud to work with the Commission and these two leaders and are delighted that their peers saw fit to return them to their positions."

A nearly 40-year resident of North Massapequa and a graduate of Farmingdale High School, Chairman Nocerino was appointed to the Commission May 21, 1995 and elected as chairman in June 1995. He also serves as commissioner of the community’s fire district and is a former chief of the community’s fire department. He is currently a fire inspector for the Town of Oyster Bay and is chairman of the Town’s Fire Advisory Board. Active in Little League and a high school football official, he has served as a director of the National Football Foundation that provides scholarships to deserving high school athletes. He is married and has four children.

Toner is an attorney and businessman in the Babylon community, having graduated from St. John’s Law School and the University’s School of Business Administration. Toner was appointed to the Commission in 1995 and elected as vice chair in 2000. A graduate of West Babylon High School, he has served as director of the New Long Island Partnership, co-chairman of the Long Island Sports Commission and as director of the NYS Association of Electrical Contractors. He is also a member of the North Babylon Rescue Squad and its former captain.