New Haven Independent

Flanked by business boosters and the city’s economic development chief, Tweed manager Rick Lamport, approached a table of aldermen at a Finance Committee hearing Thursday night for his turn in the budget-season hot seat.

His request — another $900,000 in city funds to finance Tweed’s operation costs — was hard to swallow for many at the table, and the few critics left in the back of the room.

Tweed’s long-prayed-for days of self-sufficiency are slow in coming, said one alderman after the next.

Lamport and Tweed’s pitch to the public has been: There are 4.4 million air tickets generated per year by people living within a 30-minute drive of the airport. Tweed taps into less than 1 percent of that market, Lamport has said.

“It’s the largest untapped market,” Lamport told aldermen Thursday, defending the airport’s need for continued assistance in the FY07-08 city budget. He says he can reach that market when the runway is extended, allowing planes to carry more weight, thus more fuel and passengers.

“We need the infrastructure,” said Lamport.

“We heard that four or five years ago,” replied East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar. Supporting Tweed with taxpayers’ money “gets harder and harder to justify each year.” Lemar urged for a timetable for when the airport would become self-sufficient. Lamport said he couldn’t offer that.

“It’s not fair to taxpayers to bear this burden,” chimed in Newhallville Alderman Charles Blango. “If the business people want the airport, why don’t the business people invest in the airport?” he charged, to scattered applause from tax-hike protestors.

Scott Healy, director of the Town Green Special Services District, jumped in to back Lamport up. The frustration displayed at the table is “absolutely the way a lot of people in New Haven feel.” But New Haven’s paltry air services are a “big challenge” to recruiting businesses to the city — improving the airport is necessary for growing the local economy.

The airport won’t grow into a self-sustaining, market-tapping entity until the infrastructure’s there, insisted the unflagging Lamport. Phase One of a $75 million plan to extend the airport’s runway will be complete in three years, he said. To realize the extension, Tweed needs to create a Runway Safety Area, a plan that will require overcoming resistance from East Haven homeowners and legislators.

Yes, but that’s just Phase One! said Hill Alderman Jorge Perez, as palpable tension grew.

“How long is it going to take to build a safety zone?” pressed Perez. “How long do we consider keeping putting money into what I consider to be empty promises?”

Lamport estimated the airport adds tens of millions of dollars to New Haven’s economy, a contribution that’s likely to expand through newly improved services. Market New Haven’s Anne Worcester (pictured) urged faith in the process, be it slow, of building for the future.

“You can sense the frustration going around the table,” ended Westville Alderman Sergio Rodriguez, who heads the Finance Committee. “We’ve been talking about this for years.”