Late Thursday, Babylon Town received word that the courts had issued a temporary restraining order against a proposal by Northeastern Aviation Corporation to build two new hangars at Republic Airport. The decision was handed down by the Supreme Court, New York State.

"This is very good news for the residents of the Town of Babylon because it is a recognition by the court that there are some real issues here that must be addressed before Republic makes another major move toward expansion," said Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone.

The proposal by Northeastern is for construction of an addition to Hangar two of 35,000 square feet, and a new hangar adjacent to Hangar One of 51,500 square feet, which includes 13,500 square feet of office space. Also planned is the construction of a new parking area.

The Town maintains that all changes at the airport should stop until airport officials complete a comprehensive plan for the airport's future.

"What is astonishing about this is that there is no plan," said Bellone. "How can airport officials think that it is a good idea to embark on a massive expansion of the airport when they don't have a plan for development. They are asking us to fly blind with them into an unknown future and that is not a risk we are willing to take."

Michael Geiger, airport manager, said the recent ruling does not interfere with the timetable for the project.

"We are still in the environmental process stage and the developer has not been given any approvals for building, so this does not really have an impact at this time," he said. "We do not have any immediate plans for construction

Geiger has taken the position that the airport and its growth is important to Long Island. "Business people on Long island have a need to fly and it is important (to afford them that opportunity) if we want to keep Long Island's economy vibrant," he said in an earlier interview.

Bellone said he does not disagree, but added that building, construction, expansions and additions made at the airport without a vision for the future is not in keeping with sound government or responsible planning.

"This (the court's decision) is an opportunity now for them(airport officials) to do the right thing here and acknowledge that it does not make sense to move forward with major expansion without proper planning," said Bellone. "We have a great opportunity now to open a dialogue with the airport manager, who is a reasonable individual and someone we can work with, and I am hopeful that we can sit down and come to an understanding," he said.