NEWBURGH – An attorney for the Stewart family has written to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him if he plans to overturn the current lease between the state and the Port Authority and change the name of Stewart International Airport.
While the lease says that for its duration, the name of the Newburgh area airport will remain Stewart International in honor of the family that donated the first land that would become the airport, Port Authority officials are giving serious consideration to a name change to give the airport more of a global appeal tied to New York City.
In a May 22 letter to the governor, attorney Stewart Glenn asked his intentions about the airport’s name. “In behalf of the Stewart family and many other citizens, we ask this: does your office have any intention of overturning Governor Paterson’s announcement and the current lease in order to change the name of Stewart International Airport?”
In 2008, then-Governor Paterson announced that “Under the terms of the restated lease, the airport’s name will remain Stewart International Airport for the next 92 years, the duration of the lease.”
Port Authority leadership recently said by giving the airport a more global name, perhaps like New York International Airport, it could open the doors for international air service and more domestic service for people interested in reaching New York City. With that intention, Port Authority is asking for permission to classify Stewart as a New York City airport.
