Airport’s closing will send
tenants on search for jobs
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Richard Neumeister, the owner of B&N Tool and Die at the Marlboro Airport, has been left to wonder where he will set up shop when the airport closes in late September.

MARLBORO — On its official Internet Web site, Marlboro Airport is described as the "Friendliest little airport in NJ." But the soon-to-be displaced workers on the premises say it’s more like a land of broken hearts and promises.

Officially open for business on a recent weekday afternoon, Marlboro Airport, Route 79, was devoid of any activity but the hot winds swaying trees in the distance.

"It’s like a morgue here now; it’s horrible," said Bill Bienes, who runs an aircraft repair shop on the premises. "Everybody is walking around here with long faces."

Gone were the pilots chatting about their days over coffee and sandwiches in the Airport Cafe, which closed around Memorial Day. The children peering over the wooden fences at Cessnas lifting off were nowhere to be seen.

VERONICA YANKOWSKI The cafe at Marlboro Airport, Route 79, once a hub of activity for local aviation enthusiasts, has closed, as the airport itself will close on Sept. 30.

Airport owner Marlboro Holdings, LLC, announced its intention to cease operations as of Sept. 30 in a letter to the Township Council and Mayor Matthew Scannapieco. In its place, the group is seeking to build an age-restricted housing community on 7,200-square-foot lots. The airport property is currently zoned for residential 2-acre lots.

Although the letter stated, "We are noticing our aviation and commercial tenants of our intention of closing the airport," no signs were posted anywhere around the facility. Several pilots and tenants said they were not notified in any official way, and only learned through news reports and word of mouth.

Phil Ferrante, manager of Certified Flyers flight school, said he was promised that the airport would remain in business under the current ownership for at least two to five years when he first moved in during the winter. Feeling secure, he said, the office was renovated, refurnished and equipped with new fax and computer equipment.

Ferrante said he met with Marlboro Holdings, LLC, managing member David Berman recently to ask about the airport’s fate in light of the swirling rumors, but was assured that no decision was definitely made. The date Ferrante said the meeting took place — Aug. 7 — was the same as the date on the letter signed by Berman announcing the airport’s closure.

During that meeting, Ferrante, a former stock broker, said he proposed organizing a group of investors to buy the more than 50-acre airport and continue running it, but was turned down by Berman.

"All (Berman) said was (that) we could never come up with the number that the land is worth as a piece of property," Ferrante said.

Berman could not be reached through several telephone calls to his Staten Island, N.Y., office last week.

Ferrante said he and his staff will likely move to their company’s Morristown, Morris County, branch if no other opportunities present themselves.

Richard Neumeister, owner of airport-based machine shop B&N Tool and Die, said he has no idea where he will go next. The small aluminum warehouse where he has manufactured everything from machine parts to model trains since 1981 is full of heavy machinery, which he said is very difficult to move.

"My God, I mean, where are you going to find another place to put it all? It’s bad enough moving out of a house in 30 days, much less an entire business," Neumeister said.

Neumeister also said he had not been notified of plans to close the premises, where he leases his space.

"I’m at the point now where I’m 63 years old and have another year and eight months to get to 65 and retire," Neumeister said. "They’re putting a big kink in that, obviously. I may have to go out and look for another job."

To Bienes, the situation is all too familiar. Prior to working at Marlboro Airport, he was employed at the former Colts Neck Airport, which was also closed.

"I left that place with tears in my eyes the day it closed and I’ll probably do the same here," he said.

Bienes does not know where he will find work next. In the immediate future, he will continue to lobby against a possible rezoning of the airport property.

"I think (the closing) is a ploy to force the council’s hand," Bienes said. "It’s like (Marlboro Holdings) is saying, ‘Don’t worry, we’re already gone. Give us our rezoning.’"