Rep. Zullo: East Haven Should Have Greater Say In Tweed Expansion

EAST HAVEN, CT — Rep. Joe Zullo (R-East Haven) said on Tuesday an expansion of Tweed New Haven Airport is "not a foregone conclusion" and said he is requesting more details on its potential economic benefits to East Haven.

Zullo said he expects to be briefed on whether his town will receive a percentage of the ticket fares generated from expansion, whether funds currently subsidizing the airport will be reallocated to address noise and other quality of life issues in East Haven and New Haven, and the precise tax benefits to the town.

"Proponents of expansion optimistically cite tax and economic benefits to the 'region' but we have no guarantees," Zullo said in a statement. "East Haven is being asked to bear the traffic, environmental, and logistic burdens of expansion and decision makers should be demanding to know the precise benefits for the Town, and those particularly in areas affected by expansion, of expanded airport operations."

The expansion would cost $70 million – funded privately by Avports, a Goldman Sachs-owned company – and would include a new four-gate, 74,000 square-foot terminal and daily service from a new airline.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy argued that the expansion would reflect New Haven's status as a "global city," and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, said "it's about time the greatest small city in America had the greatest small airport in America."

Zullo, however, argues that since "the path to Tweed's ideal expansion plans runs through the Town of East Haven," the town has "discretion over key approvals."

"I realize that many are impacted by Tweed expansion and that many others are benefited by it. I'm not asking for the world. I am simply asking for the data," Zullo said. "The people of East Haven deserve to know the facts before the town's leaders make decisions that will affect generations to come."

East Haven Mayor Joseph A. Carfora echoed Zullo's statements, saying in a letter that the town has not been sufficiently represented throughout the process.

"I have said that the expansion of this airport will not be placed on the backs of East Haven taxpayers, but that too often, historically, the benefits of an enhanced Tweed are discussed in regional benefit terms and not with a sensitivity to the direct impact that it will have on East Haven and its neighborhoods," Carfora said. "I have asked for a true partnership on the Tweed Authority, so that East Haven's voice will be heard, and valued."