The Washington times., 1938-07-28
n. Y. SOL UTION.
CITED HERE IN.
AIRPORT PUZZLE.
What LaGuardia Did,
D. c. Might Do
By JOSEPH t. MOONEY

When it comes to getting what
1t wants in the matter of airports
to fit its size and need. Washing
ton might we'll borrow from the
record of New York-where they
never heard the expression 1t
can't be done"
Faced with almost the identical
air problem that confronts the
Nations Capital-inadequate pres
ent facilities, a host of conflicting
interests, and Government red
tape-Mayor Fiorello LeGuardia
shrugged all these aside and went
to work.
WPA DOING BIG JOB
Result is the Municipal North
Beach Airport in Queens. When
this is completed next spring, New
York will have the largest airport
in the East right in its own yard.
An army of 1900 WPA workers,
toiling day and night, are trans
forming the mudflats of Bowery
Bay into a $23.000,000 depot for
transatlantic and transcontinenta
planes. Passengers will be whisked
to any part of the metropolis over
the ultra modern Grand Central
Parkway extension, leading to Tri-
borough Bridge.
To begin with, North Beach air
port had all the aspects of the
Washington airport, including the
headaches.
LAGUARDIA'S FIGHT
Space had to be found by level
Ing hills and filling in the bay.
Tho city had to acquire huge
tracts of privately owned land. De-
sign of the airport had to con-
form with the strictest standards
Of the Bureau of Air Commerce,
which insisted on planning an
airport to last for years to come.
LaGuardia's fight for munic-
ipal airport to end once and for
all New York's case of air cramps
was a long and bitter one.
Airlines which used the Newark
airport were forced to continue to
use the field 10 miles out of the
city because of heavy investments
in hangers and operations equip
ment which they had to pay for
because of the Newark administra-
tons failure to provide adequate
facilities.
SPURN NEW LEASES
Now the airlines are understood
to be transferring their operations
to North Beach, using Newark only
as an Intermediary airport for
those commuters who wish to
reach the Jersey cities.
The operators are refusing to
renew leases or avail themselves
of the costly new hangar at New
ark. Current leases contain a
clause, it is said, which releases
t1e companies in the event that
ae Post Office Department desig-
mates any other field as the air
terminus for New York.
Only other obstacle to the de-
Velopment of North Beach Airport
was Floyd Bennett Field, in Brook
iyn, heretofore the largest airport
in the East and the only one feas-
ible for transatlantic flying. North
Beach, with 435 acres, will be sub
stantially larger, and its four-way
runways will be long enough to-
accommodate anything that flies.
SEAPLANE SERVICE
Seaplanes will be served by three
channels in adjacent Long Island
Sound, each 900 feet wide, IS feet
deep and anywhere from half a
mile to four miles to take off and
turn in.
One hundred trucks, moving
$4,000 cubic yards of dirt day,
are rapidly filling in the airport.
The earth comes from Riker's
Island and the former hill back OF
the airport.
To insure against blunders in
construction, the Bureau of Air
Commerce and WPA engineers
have worked nand in hand with
John Mckenzie, New York'S COM
missioner of docks.
Under Col. Brehon B. Somervell,
WPA engineers have maintained
schedule so that the project,
started last September 9, will be
completely finished April 80.