Though it's been a decade in the making, the creation of a Syracuse Airport Authority will have to wait.
Monday afternoon, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner removed the legislation to set up the Authority from the Common Council agenda. The decision came as a disappointment to the Centerstate Corporation for Economic Opportunity which called upon its business members to lobby the Council in favor of the Airport Authority. Centerstate President Robert Simpson told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon that the Authority has been debated for the past 10 years and any further delay will force passengers who use Hancock Airport to pay higher air fares than other airports in upstate New York. Proponents say an authority will allow the airport to operate more like a private business to lower costs and attract low fare airlines to Syracuse.
Prior to the Council meeting a group of labor organizations called upon councilors to hold up a vote on the Authority. They says the legislation does not properly address labor issues including a requirement that vendors and maintenance workers be paid a "living wage."
Airport Commissioner Rory McMahon told the council that Mayor Miner decided to withdraw the legislation to give them more time to address concerns about an Airport Authority.
