MacArthur Airport receives state funding for upgrades

Long Island MacArthur Airport has received an infusion of state funding to help with multimillion dollar plans to upgrade the main terminal and other capital improvements.

The Islip Town Board recently accepted $85,414 in grants from the state Department of Transportation for a number of projects, including rebuilding the west terminal apron at the town-owned airport in Ronkonkoma.

The state grant for that project is $18,167, or 5% of the project’s cost. The breakdown is $326,997 from the Federal Aviation Administration and $18,167 each from the town and the state for a total cost of $363,331.

The next project to receive state funding is a slate of capital improvements at the airport, including rehabilitating the main terminal building with 24 new vestibule doors, two new sets of doors compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, replacing four baggage carousels and the main terminal roof.

The grant will pay for $40,704 of the total $814,084 cost, with the town paying $40,705 and the FAA paying for $732,675.

The town will also receive $26,543 in state funding to pay for a $530,851 terminal area report. The FAA is paying for $477,765, and the town and the state are both paying $26,543.

“These projects are critical to the modernization of the airport infrastructure. They will rehabilitate portions of the airport infrastructure that have not been updated in more than 20 years,” Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said in a statement.

The Town Board voted unanimously 3-0 in favor of accepting the grants at the Sept. 24 board meeting. Board members Trish Bergin Weichbrodt and James P. O'Connor were absent from the meeting.

These state grants complement the three grants from the FAA awarded this summer. The updates come as town officials vie for federal funding to build a new concourse and expand the airport. Officials plan to apply for about $67 million from the FAA to construct the concourse and additional enhancements, but will compete with similar-sized airports for the federal dollars, according to airport Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken.