Dan's Papers - May 8, 2009 - STIMULUS MONEY TO THE RESCUE HERE

There are some bright spots on the East End even now, under the dark cloud of economic turndown. When revenue in so many sectors is not up to levels expected or needed, there comes actions by the government though various stimulus packages. Some of those have been brought to East End towns by their elected representatives in the Congress.

For many months there has been much talk about helping Main Street, but where Wall Street executives of failed firms received million dollar bonuses, nothing seemed to be trickling down to the local town level. With so many promises from Federal officials of both parties to provide help for those toxic mortgages, in some cases dubiously acquired or given somehow at the last minute, the money always seemed to be diverted to large bank holding companies.

However there is some good news locally that deserves to have a bit of light shined upon it.

With so many companies, towns and banks talking record deficits, it's amazing that in Westhampton, Gabreski Airport will actually be operating in the black for the first time in 39 years, and in fact may have a whopping $1.8 million surplus at the end of 2009 (about the size of a bonus for a unsuccessful A.I.G. stooge). Since 1970, the airport has been run by the county, which took it over from the Federal government. In the past, the county used to have to kick in around $6 million to make up for deficits. The estimates are that the airport has cost the county tens of millions to run it.

So why the surplus now? The reason very well may be the increased income brought in by the National Guard, but the fact is, no one is being laid off because business is down and salaries at the airport are not be scaled back. So kudos to the Gabreski Airport staff and Airport Manager Tony Ceglio.

The Shinnecock Reservation is a great place to buy cheaper cigarettes but no one has ever said the Indians are living in acute affluence - in fact many live closer to the poverty line. Therefore, it was good news indeed that congressman Tim Bishop's request for $190K to be applied to building the new $2.3 million day care and early learning center on the Shinnecock Indian Nation Reservation, came through, via the $410 billion federal omnibus bill approved by both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. That federal appropriations bill, practically completed in Congress (passed in the House, and voted for in the Senate, in final conference), is almost at the point of being signed by President Obama also includes more than $4 million in funding for environmental and waterways projects in eastern Brookhaven, Southampton and East Hampton towns. This legislation will provide $3.2 million in federal dollars for dredging the Shinnecock Inlet, which will restore the channel through the offshore sandbar and address shoaling in the inlet fairway. A minor dredging project at Moriches Inlet, also expected to cost $100,000, is also funded by the bill.

For Montauk Harbor the bill will provide $650,000 of Federal funds for dredging. Due to shoaling, the inlet to the harbor in foul weather is perilous and almost impossible for navigating large fishing boats - even as statistics confirm that Montauk is the state's largest commercial seafood port. Also in the legislation is a tidy $119,000 to investigate possible solutions to the shoaling at the inlet.

Another $190,000 will go to the expansion of the revetment studies by the Army Corps of Engineers to save the Montauk Lighthouse from falling into the ocean due to erosion of Turtle Hill, where the Lighthouse is located. As for the North Fork, Congressman Tim Bishop announced funding to the amount of $196,000 to study environmental conditions and problems in the Forge River, a tributary off western Moriches Bay in Brookhaven Town.

Finally the Town of Southampton has requested, through U.S. Senator "Chuck" Schumer, aid for the village to the tune of $3 million to stimulate the local economy through federal spending on municipal projects. The village officials gave the Senator a list of their 11 high priority projects. More than half of those shovel-ready suggestions have to do with flooding and drainage in the village. The six proposed projects amount to $2.3 million, the costliest proposal being a $1.9 million plan to install runoff retention and recharge on Windmill Lane, a major watershed area that drains into Lake Agawam.

Stimulus is coming to the East End due to the efforts of some elected federal officials. The fact that all of the officials are Democrats, as is the majority of both Houses of Congress, plus the President and even the Governor of New York, probably helps gets things done quickly at this time when "quickly" can help create millions of dollars for local workers.