(This article appeared in the February 15, 2008 Edition Press Manorville and Moriches ) Romaine may deflate balloon festival
By Bryan Finlayson
Though a three-day hot air balloon festival held in August in many ways put Shirley on the map, Brookhaven Town Councilman Keith Romaine and some members of the community are questioning the merits of future festivals.
The three-day festival attracted more than 100,000 people to Brookhaven’s Calabro Airport and raised more than $100,000 for local charities, festival officials said. RE/MAX New York, the event’s sponsor, also gave the town $35,000 to fund projects exclusively for the airport. Nonetheless, detractors of the event believe the benefits of continued festivals are not worth the added noise, traffic and safety risks that are brought into the community.
At a Manor Park Civic Association meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Romaine said he believed Calabro Airport was not the proper venue for the balloon festival because of those concerns, and suggested that the festival be relocated to the parking lot of the Bald Hill Amphitheater in Farmingville—next to Brookhaven Town Hall.
After stating that Calabro Airport should not be used as an economic engine for the town, Mr. Romaine said the town should cancel a multi-year contract with organizers after this year’s festival.
He also complained that the airport was closed for certain hours of the day during the event, disrupting the flight schedules of fixed base operators, such as Mid-Island Air Service, that pay the town a fee to operate there. “The town only gets $35,000, and the town spent a hell of a lot more,” Mr. Romaine said. “Whoever signed this contract is not a financial wizard.”
David Glicker, festival director for RE/ MAX, said the festival could not be held anywhere other than at an airport because it is aviation related in nature. “We went into the event knowing that there was a lot of unknowns and that there would be a learning curve,” Mr. Glicker said. “We take a tremendous risk in bringing this event to the community, and all we want is to be appreciated by the community.”
According to the contract between the town and the Metro NY Balloon and Music Festival, the event organizers have the right to hold the festival again this year. Between August 15 and September 20, the Town Board has the opportunity to reject future festivals. If board members opt to renew the contract—or do nothing at all—the contract would be valid for every year through 2013.
Supervisor Brian X. Foley has asked the law department to examine the contract with Metro New York to ensure that all parts of it were adhered to this year, due to concerns following the event, according to town spokesman Tom Burke. “His position is that the deal has to be fair for the citizens and fair for the town, and he is going to ensure that that happens,” Mr. Burke said. “In terms of whether the town should be making more money or if the festival should be held on Bald Hill, those are moot points, because the town will make a decision between August 15 and September 20.”
As the town evaluates its contract with Metro New York, MaryAnn Johnston, president of the Manor Park Civic Association and the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization, said the association members would continue to oppose the festival at Calabro Airport. At the civic meeting, Ms. Johnston, who said that she believed “airports should not be used as Disneyland,” later said she was pleased that Mr. Romaine was in concurrence with the position of the association. “I’m tickled pink to have you on board,” Ms. Johnston said to Mr. Romaine.
The cost of tickets and bottled water was too high at the festival, some complained. Water was said to have cost as much as $8 per bottle. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for kids. Parking cost event-goers $10 per day. “Whether it’s a $4 bottle of water or an $8 bottle of water may not be a contractual violation, but we want to make sure that everyone enjoys themselves,” Mr. Burke said.
Mr. Glicker said that ticket prices and food prices may be reconsidered as the festival draws nearer. “We do not anticipate them going up,” Mr. Glicker said of the prices. “We are actively and diligently working on bringing them down.”
Martin Haley, the town’s commissioner of aviation, said an airport committee will be formed to review what happened last year with the event organizers in order to avoid agitating residents. “I can assure you that it is going to go much smoother this year than it did last year, because they made a lot of … mistakes last year, and you learn from your mistakes,” Mr. Haley said. He went on to say that if the balloon festival was to continue in future years, it should be relocated to a different venue. “I think everything that happens [at Calabro Airport] needs to be aviation related, and I don’t think that was aviation related,” he said.
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and was already in the process of seeking to condemn homes in Manor Park for expansion of the airport. Ultimately, the Town was successful in taking only three homes to provide a buffer zone for the Airport. These buffer zones have been a source of concern for the residents of the area who must be constantly aware of activity at the Airport in order to ensure that the peaceful and small nature of the Airport is not destroyed by inappropriate development.
