leadtongue

I have sent but have not received any response yet from a few flying clubs in the middlesex/monmouth county areas about the old marlboro airport tract. It was purchased last year and is now part of the monmouth county parks system. Before it goes the way of the soccer/softball/tennis court complexes that seems to be the only thing these parks commissions can come up with i would like to see these clubs actively go after this site as a field for hobbyists. The tarmac is in decent shape still and there is plenty of room to fly. I for one would love to see an aviation based theme...hangars...old donated planes...museum etc....and of course a flying club...perhaps even just electrics. I have visited many of the club fields here and have been dissappointed to say the least with their capabilities....especially for those with smaller electrics and landing gear that cant be flown or landed at most of the current fields used now. Big enough to hold funflys of a large scale this could be a great fit for both our hobby and for monmouth county parks system. It is unfortunate that some of us must purchase and fly a plane based on not what we like to but for the type of field it will be flying and landing from. if i seem a little selfish i can only say that as a whole the hobby needs to be more selfish and aggressive and actively pursue any options that present themselves. This site should be given the attention that it deserves as it could be on of the finest flying sites on the east coast imo.

FixedWing172

Hey Jeff,
First, sorry that I couldn't reply to your e-mail. I was away at the Joe Nall fly-in and have been trying to get caught up since.

I like the way you think. Having a full scale airport/museum/model aircraft site all in one placewould be awesome especially two minutes from where I live.

Unfortunately it will never happen on that property which I know a bit about. I used to visit the airport years ago to watch the full scale airplanes takeoff and land dreaming that one day I would learn how to fly. And in 2000 I did just that. I earned my private pilot certificate at theMarlboro airport and spent a lot of time there even when I wasn't flying.Right around the same time the Doctor that owned theland died and his wife put our beloved airportup for sale. A group of pilots tried to raise the funds to buy it butfell short of the 1.1 million dollar asking price.

One of the pilots thereclaimed that he saved the airport when he and his partners bought itand swore it would alwaysremain anairport. Itturns out that heandhis partners were actually real estate developers from Staten Island and despite thepromises to usthe airport was doomed from that day forward. When we pressedthemabout the promises of improvements that never happened theybecame arrogant and continued the charade about whatheros they were.

Meanwhile, thepartnerswere approached by another corrupt developer whowas later found guilty of bribing the thenMayor of Marlboro. The corrupt developer became a silentpartner to the new airport owners and was caught making 100k worth of cashpayments to the mayor forhis approval of high density housing atthe site.

Naturally wepilots were outraged over what we knew was going on behind the scenes and let our voices be heard.It took a while buteventually the local newspapers picked up on the story as well as theFBI. Since then the ex-mayor went to prison andthe developer was indicted oncorruption charges but hepassed away before he didtime. The airport was closed in 2003and the newownersknew better than try to develop it. Unfortunately they still benefitted from the purchase since theMonmouth County Parks Systemrecently came in and purchasedit for 3.5 million.

It's been eight years since the airport closed and since then there hasbeen further development around the airport property including new homes and gravesites in the cemetary next door.The cemetary was also owned by the corrupt developer.The existence of airplanes at that site are a distant memory for the people that still live there who have since grown accustomed to the lack of noise. And the newhome owners around the property would never stand for a sudden change in use that would involve the constant sound of model airplanes flying overhead. Not to mention the people who are burying their loved ones right next door.

A small group triedto fly models there afterthe airport closed but itdidn't last long before there were numerous complaints. The objections came from many including the woman that livesin the home at the airport entrance thatkept a couple of horses there.

Evenif in the very unlikely event that the Marlboro planning boardwere to approve a flying site there it would be a matter of minutesbefore it gotshut down when the neighbors and grieving public started to complain.

I have lived in this town for 14 years and knowing the attitudes of the public officials here as well as the history of the property I can tell you there is zero chance thatanyone would approve such a use.

I also know the MonmouthCounty ParksSystem wellas our flying site isowned by themand there is probably a less than zero chance that they wouldever be receptive to such an idea. Especially since theMonmouth County owned Hudson Trail runs through the property as well where the public walks and bikes.

Sorry to lay it out like this but I would hate to see you get your hopes up.

Sincerely,
Stan Berger
President
JerseyCoast Sport Fliers

leadtongue

Stan, thanks so much for your reply. I do know the sordid history of this site and while you make some valid observations about the politicos and the parks system i still think that this can have a shot at succeeding. This is a very beautiful site all by itself and it would be a travesty to carve it up into a sports complex type property. I think the idea of preserving the history aspect of what was and combining it with a museum with old donated aircraft that can be touched and climbed into might be the only way to sell the idea. An electric only field should allay some of the noise concerns and i believe it is a large enough site that the impact on the cemetery and nearby homes would be negligible. After all if there were sports fields built the amount of noise from crowds,horns,whistles and vehicles would have more of an impact! I dont know if the AMA would be able to help in this matter....i am sure there have been many success stories with establishing flying sites through co-operation, good planning and having all the facts ready for scrutiny by public officials and residents alike. This idea would need to be "sold" to the powers that be... and by its virtues and uniqueness...the small environmental footprint our hobby has...and the type of organization we are...mostly mature responsible types...who can care for their site, police themselves, provide their own insurance and be good neighbors. This could be the "jewel" of the parks system or just another sports park complex...sometimes the powers that be like having something unique and different from anyone else and that may be the only angle we have in our favor in pursuing this idea. This idea needs to be planted in the minds of those in power to have any chance. maybe a joint effort by your club with help from the AMA could be just the ticket to persuade those powers to be.Never say never.