Monday, June 22, 2009

Globe: 'Hey, Massport lied'; Eastie: 'No kidding'

In an editorial today The Boston Globe is shocked...shocked!...that Massport has not lived up to promises that were made to facilitate the construction of Runway 14/32. Of course, the residents of East Boston have said many times that Massport's leaders have been lying to this community for more than 40 years.

A federal judge lifted a 30-year injunction to allow the laying down of the newest runway partly because the agency, as the Globe says, "argued that it would reduce delays when strong northwest winds ruled out use of other runways, without sending substantially more flights over any of the nearby neighborhoods." And then?
Since the new runway’s completion in 2006, there has been a major increase in takeoffs over East Boston, Chelsea, Somerville, Cambridge, and Medford. The airport and the FAA owe it to Logan’s neighbors to reduce the burden on them without compromising on safety.
And what is their excuse for this bait-and-switch? "Massport officials say the problem was not easily foreseeable..." Thousands of pages of reports and studies, and thousands of dollars paid to lobbyists and to lawyers, and they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Good job. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. Maybe they're just incompetent.

Nope. They're incompetent AND they're liars.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you missed this one to Jim.

By John Lynds

Mayor Thomas Menino has directed his law department to look into Judge Margot Botsford’s decision on Runway 14/32 and the Centerfield Taxiway because it is debatable whether the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) complied with one of the judge’s conditions before construction of the runway begins or the taxiway project moves forward.
One of the conditions in Botsford’s decision was that the FAA would be required to meet with a six-member committee made up of residents from East Boston and Winthrop to discuss realistic alternatives to the taxiway that could potentially minimize environmental impacts.
While the FAA did hold several meetings with this committee, members of the committee have argued that the meetings were nothing more than a ‘kangaroo court’ and the FAA had no intention of entertaining the committee’s alternatives to the centerfield taxiway.
Some on the committee, including Eastie resident Ronald Hardaway, said that the original consultant hired by the FAA to look into taxiway alternatives was abruptly fired after its findings started to lean in favor of Eastie and Winthrop residents.
“A second consultant was hired and when its findings favored the centerfield taxiway, that was the consultant the FAA listened to,” said Hardaway at a recent community meeting regarding the centerfield taxiway.
The task for Menino’s attorneys now is to see if the FAA violated this important community process regarding the centerfield taxiway.
“We are taking a look at Judge Botsford’s decision and asking if the FAA fulfilled its requirement to the people of East Boston and Winthrop,” said Menino. “I’m very concerned about the environmental impacts the taxiway might pose of residents and if the city has the legal mans to stop this project.”
In June the FAA dismissed alternatives to the proposed centerfield taxiway put forth by Eastie and Winthrop residents and concluded that the alternatives would not significantly reduce aircraft noise or air pollution in the neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the FAA reported the taxiway would add flexibility for taxing aircraft and reduce congestion that sometimes leads to runway incursions.
The 16 alternatives by opponents of the taxiway project to aimed to ease noise and pollution concerns but the FAA found these alternatives to have no "significant benefits" for Eastie and Winthrop.
Eastie and Winthrop residents have argued that the 9,300-foot long taxiway would have severe environmental consequences for residential in both communities. Certain portions of Bayswater Street in Eastie would suffer directly from the taxiway’s function as a replacement for much of Taxiway Novembers traffic because it would relocate taxiing aircraft one thousand feet closer to a residential neighborhood.

N.starluna said...

Does anyone know what the law department's conclusion on this was?

Anonymous said...

Ask John Lynds

N.starluna said...

I would if I thought he would answer.

Anonymous said...

While your at it ask him how come his paper didn't tell the general public that Massort paid 4 million dollars to a select group of people,
to take down the blast fence that was the communities only sound barrier protection?

Now as far as the Mayor goes hes a joke,and so is the supposed looking into it by a defunct city of boston law department that cant even enforce rulings from the board of appeals that deny illegal basement apartments,or illegal stores built without permits,and only one way in.

Come on John do a front page story on the 4 million,where is it,why not print the memorandom of understanding .

As I said follow the money,and you know just like Nixonthey are all crooks.

4 million John 4 Million.

I am willing to bet 90% of Eastie had no idea that fence came down for 4 million.

I was there ,they called a recess,and then locked out the public,herald ,globe etc.
Only the infamous ten tax payer suers were allowed in.

Once again Hosed,and property values destroyed in Orient Heights.