Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-12
AIRPORT MERGER
Project PLANNED
Syndicate Admits Negotiat-
ing to Develop Long
Island Sites.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 12.-Negotiations
have been undertaken for the purchase
OF Curtiss Field, Long Island. by the
Wall Street syndicate which last week
acquired Roosevelt Fild, it was learned
yesterday. 1t is planned to join the
two fields into one of the largest air.
ports in the country.
An effort was being made to keep
details OF the negotiations secret until
the deal was completed. But the circu-
lation yesterday of the false report that
the field had been sold and the deal
closed led to making public the fact
that the project has been planned and
will create an air terminal which the
hackers believe will be adequate to
handle all of the commercial air traffic
of the future in and out of New York.
War Flyer Handles Syndicate.
Roosevelt Field. one of the oldest
airports in the metropolitan district.
: was bought last week by the syndicate
which is headed by Seth Low, wartime
flyer and member of the brokerage firm
of Charles L. Frank & Co. of 60 Broad
street. The announcement at that time
said that it was planned to develop one
of the finest airdromes in the country.
The addition of Curtiss Field to the
project will make available the con-
Struction of a runway nearly two miles
long and will give base which is
Immediately workable.
Curtiss Field. which is adjacent to
Roosevelt Field, is the smaller of the
two airportS, but from the point Of
view of aircraft operation FaS been a
more active center than the larger port.
The question of price is sad to be one
of the details of the project which is
still open. When R. j. Reynolds, pres
ent owner of the field, purchased it in
1927 the sale price was reported to be
slightly under $1,000,000. Roosevelt
Field was held by its recent owners. the
600, but the Wall Street syndicate Is
said to have acquired 1t for considerably
less than that price.
The membership of the syndicate
which Mr.. Low heads includes John w
Cutler of the Edward B. Smith Co. and
the members of the banking firm of |
Hit, Farwell g. Co.
100 Acres in Curtiss Field.
1II6 SuTtlSS ElclQ pIUpClby COIltdulo |
about 100 acres. The field was owned |
by the Airdrome Development Corpora |
ton and for several years had been |
under lease, which expires this Spring, |
and because of other plans of the Cur
tiss company the lease was not to be |
renewed. The Curtiss service is UNDER
stood to have under consideration sew
eral propositions at other fields now |
being developed in and around New
York. One of these is a plan to have
the exclusive fixed base operation at |
Floyd Bennett Field, the municipal air.
port on Barren Island.
! Curtiss Field is one of the busiest air.
ports in the metropolitan area. Among
the larger firms operating there are Air
Associates, Inc: George Weis, Inc; Co
lumbia Air Lines and Sikorsky and
Waco.
The acquisition of Curtiss Field, it |
was admitted by aviation leaders, would |
place Mr.. Lows group in dominant |
position in the race to control New |
York air traffic. While not as near the |
city as some of the sites which re- |
Gently have been proposed as New York |
aviation terminals, 1t has the advan-
tage Of being already in operation.
Flushing Airport Site Bought.
A new company, known as the
Elushing-New York Airport, Inc. has
purchased $50 acres of land facing Lin |
den avenue, Bayside avenue and Fifth
avenue, Flushing, Queens, for the de-
yelopment of an airport, it was an
nounced yesterday. The property is |
about half mile from the Flushing |
subway and adjoins the College Point |
section.
According to an announcement from |
the purchasers, the field Is to be de- |
veloped primarily as an air training |
center. The Flushing New York Air. |
port, Inc, is subsidiary of the Pioneer |
Aero Trade School of IT'S Broadway, |
Manhattan, which is to develop and OPP |
crate at the field a modern flying school. |
: Contracts for grading the field have |
been let and 1t is expected to have the |
field in service by the end of Spring. |
The purchase price of the land was not |
made public. It was bought from the |
Flushing Parks Corporation, which has |