CAA: GA News, "Collecting From Gabreski Airport"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, August 8, 2002

Collecting From Gabreski Airport
Officials go after $149,000 tab
By Rick Brand
Newsday (NY)


Tens of thousands of dollars in back rent and fees has gone uncollected at
Suffolk County's Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, with some
of the arrears dating back to 1995, airport officials say.

As of July 1, a half-dozen tenants - including the brother of the
Southampton Town supervisor - owed a total of $149,000 in back rent, fees,
commissions and late charges, according to county officials.

In an effort to crack down on the problem, county officials have sent a
notice of eviction to one tenant and have referred disputed charges with
another to the county comptroller for review.

Alice Amrhein, the county's economic development commissioner, said the
situation is improving. She noted that although more than half the airport's
25 tenants were behind in payments at the start of the year when her office
began overseeing rents, rental collections for the first six months of 2002
were up by more than $40,000, to $239,876.

Some tenants concede they have had difficulty making payments for reasons
ranging from a fall-off of business in the aftermath of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks to losses stemming from a 1998 airshow in which event
organizers stiffed airport businesses.

Others, however, dispute all or some of the county bills, claiming that late
fees have been improperly compounded or that the county failed to give
tenants credit for improvements they made to properties.

"It's a big mess," said Jacques Ditte, owner of Black Sheep TV, an
advertising and video production firm which the county says owes $11,000.
"We probably owe some money, but you don't pay a bill until you're sure it's
correct."

Jan Burden, manager of Malloy Air East Inc., which the county says owes
$20,000, disputes all the charges and has agreed to allow the comptroller's
office to conduct an audit. He said his firm has canceled checks showing
payment of every bill the county has sent.

While county officials listed Long Island Jet Center as owing the most -
$59,000 - company officials say a meeting early this month resolved many of
the problems. William McShane, Jet Center president, said the county
acknowledged "significant accounting errors" resulting in improper late
charges. According to airport officials, Jet Center has made three payments
in the past month totaling $43,000, making its accounts current.

County officials also say that Hampton Interiors, owned by Anthony Heaney,
brother of Southampton Supervisor Patrick Heaney, owes $14,000.

Anthony Heaney said his business was hurt when he was moved from a building
that was visible from the road to another farther inside the complex. He
said the county has eliminated $3,000 in late charges, and that he has
agreed to pay 25 percent of what he owes immediately and the rest within a
year. Heaney said he has received no special treatment because of his
brother.

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