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General News: Gruber Serving on Airport Advisory Panel
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| Aerial view of Stewart International Airport |
February 03, 2008
Simon Gruber is excited about the chance to influence Stewart Airport’s growth in the region as a member of the Citizens Advisory Panel that met last month. A resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson and a consultant to Orange County on water issues, Gruber brings an environmental perspective to the group that includes Cornwall resident Brian Hunt, a business traveler who also wants to see smart growth at the airport.
Gruber says that noise and traffic are concerns he shares with other environmentalists. And, as specialist in clean water supply, he will have plenty to say about how the airport deals with its own storm water management and de-icing problems.
But, Gruber says that he also puts a lot of value on the big picture, getting the Port Authority to integrate economic development with environmental sustainability.
The Port Authority has said the airport will pursue a carbon negative policy and Gruber would like to see the airport become a huge demonstration site for green technology – from lighting to landscaping the grounds.
Gruber has suggested that the airport become a model for landscapers and contractors to practice start-of-the art storm water management. He’s got funds available through the Cornell Cooperative Extension to train people in these techniques and thinks the airport grounds would offer a high-profile place to practice them. His goal is to train a group of local landscapers and contractors who specialize in storm water management.
Gruber is also thinking about pumping new life into the existing city structure and said he proposed to the airport manager that growth should benefit the city of Newburgh instead of creating a new city around the airport.
“There has to be a long term commitment to link the airport to the city, bring jobs to the city and make jobs around the airport available to the people in the city,” Gruber explains.
Gruber says that virtually everyone in attendance at the advisory panel’s first meeting agreed that Stewart Airport will be a boon to regional tourism, a form of economic development that he said could be good for the environment.
“Tourism relies on maintaining the visual qualities, the historic character, of the area,” Gruber notes. “People want to go to places that are interesting and have character and history. In Cornwall, certainly, we have a lot of our resources that are still here that we haven’t homogenized”
When Gruber speaks, he envisions tourism that benefits the artists, farmers, and outdoors enthusiasts – he has a wealth of ideas and his one concern is making his voice heard. So far, the Port Authority hasn’t announced when the next meeting of the advisory panel will be held. The airport general manager, Diannae Ehler, suggested they meet four times a year but Gruber doesn’t think that is often enough.
“If we had lots of time on this panel, and I had time to spend time, it is a fascinating thing from a planning point, with economic development and land use change,” Gruber says.
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