As temperatures rose in the already hot, crowded, humid auditorium at the Farmingdale Middle School, so did tempers, and while Republic Airport officials had hoped to explain to the public why they needed to make design changes at the airport, the public wanted nothing to do with it.

"We don’t want it," they chanted over the voice of the speakers. Waving bright green flyers that said "Don’t Change Republic," and placards with slogans expressing similar sentiments, it was clear the residents would not be persuaded by charts, overheads, statistics or any other information being presented.

The meeting, which was billed as strictly for public information and not as a public hearing, was held Thursday, August 3. Though scheduled to begin at 7, the presentation by airport officials didn’t get underway until almost eight. From the beginning there was ill will between the residents and officials. "You’re wasting my time," one man shouted to the officials while others, already uncomfortable from the heat, clammered to start the meeting.

"I came down here to get information and find out what was going on and I was turned off by the people running the airport because you don’t have an informational meeting in the middle of August in a place that doesn’t have air conditioning unless you are looking for no one to show up or looking to have people leave without expressing their opinion," said Kevin Gorman, a resident who attended the meeting.

The airport was presenting the first three chapters of a draft master plan showing some of the design changes they want to make at the airport in what they have termed interest of safety and economic necessity. But for years residents have said airport officials have not been honest and have either, out of a lack of integrity or a lack of ability, moved the general aviation airport closer to becoming a major aviation hub for 727 jets and even larger cargo planes.

Consultant Tom Chastain reviewed Republic’s recommended development plans and "general airport improvement projects" by way of a slide show received with little interest by the public. The noises of an unimpressed audience conversing among themselves, and at times shouting out their opposition to the officials, created a din that rose above the presentation, and some minutes into Chastain’s speech one man ventured loudly, "This is like a filibuster!"

Babylon Town Councilman Steve Bellone spoke briefly during a portion of the evening allotted for the comments of 50 community members, stating, "I’m here to reiterate the Town of Babylon’s opposition to any changes. We continue to oppose any physical expansion to the airport grounds." He then assured the crowd, "you’re on the right side," but asked for calm and their equal respect of all in attendance, including airport representatives.

Residents have complained that more activity by larger planes at the airport over the years has wrecked havoc on the quality of the residential communities, including Farmingdale, Lindenhurst, Amityville, and Massapequa, bringing in noise, pollution, traffic and danger.

"Tell me where a large plane that is looking to make an emergency landing is going to dump its fuel?" asked Massapequa civic leader Emil Copolla, who made a statement in strong opposition to the plans.

"This master plan is so vague and full of loopholes that a 727 could fly through it," said Helen Norjen of the Farmingdale Civic Association and a long and consistent opponent of airport expansion at Republic. "No community should be under siege for a third of a century."

Republic officials have denied there is any sinister plan to move in and make Republic a major airport. Consistently, they have denied statements that the changes planned will encourage and eventually result in Republic being used by cargo planes for UPS and Fed-Ex and other large freight carriers.

"That is never and will never be our intention," said Frank Nocerino, chairman of the Republic Airport Commission. "We have Islip nearby, why would we need another airport like it at Republic in Farmingdale?"

Among other things, the Airport is looking to extend its 1-19 runway which goes from Route 109 to almost Conklin Street to move it away from residential homes. It also wants to widen some of the taxiways to accommodate the newer commercial aircraft that have wider wing spans and is seeking a reduction in the regulations for flight navigation systems. These changes, if approved, would allow planes to land at Republic in bad weather. They are an effort "to improve service for private, corporate, charter and commuter aviation and to serve the economic and transportation needs of Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the report," said airport officials.

One person at the meeting agreed.

Michael Harbater, a pilot who has a small aircraft at Republic, said the issue has nothing to do with trust or mistrust; wider taxiways or changes to the regulations governing bad weather landings. "It’s simply a matter of physics and the fact is that no matter what changes they make at Republic they will never be able to land fully loaded cargo planes there—the runways are not long enough and can’t be expanded to the lengths that would be needed."

Harbater said with the runways bordered by major highways—Routes 109, and 110 and Southern State Parkway, the lengths needed for larger, heavy aircraft filled to capacity with cargo or people are impossible to get at Republic. "What freight company is going to send in a plane that is half filled with cargo?" he asked. "It’s just not going to happen there because it can’t."

Residents said that the officials’ intentions are not what is at issue and that "if they build it, a bigger airport will come," with noisier aircraft landing in larger numbers.

"You don’t put that kind of money in and tell me you are not looking to make the airport bigger and accommodate more planes," said Larry DeMarco a resident of Farmingdale since 1961. "I just don’t buy it."

Neither does Norjen, who points out that Republic officials had every "intention" of maintaining a 60,000 pound weight limit for aircraft at the airport and is now being forced to accept planes of up to 72,000 pounds because airport officials allowed some larger planes in and were then sued. "They were discriminatory and we are paying the price for their incompetence," said John Richter, of Farmingdale. "The changes there so far have been very disruptive and the officials are very deceptive."