Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach) last week brought the concerns of constituents regarding John F. Kennedy International Airport employees parking in neighboring residential communities to the monthly meetings for the Kennedy Airport Airlines Management Council and the JFK Airport Chamber of Commerce.
Goldfeder said that, going forward, it’s got to be about compromise and cooperation.
“As employers and as people who work here, I need you to help us create a better partnership,” Goldfeder told KAAMCO attendees last Wednesday. “We in the community do as best we can to accommodate and to be good neighbors, but we ask our friends here at JFK to do the same. This isn’t an issue any one person or office can solve alone. That’s why we have organizations like these, to come together and discuss the problem so that we can collectively find a lasting solution.”
Goldfeder said that during the public testimony portion of the KAAMCO meeting he touched on his recent efforts in collaboration with City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) to improve the parking situation in Howard Beach, Ozone Park and other communities surrounding JFK.
Last August, Goldfeder and Ulrich met with Transportation Security Administration officials at the agency’s JFK headquarters to discuss regular sightings of TSA employees in uniform parking in the community. During the KAAMCO meeting, Goldfeder acknowledged TSA’s contention that the agency’s employees only make up 5 percent of the airport’s 37,000 daily employees.
Additionally, the TSA is currently negotiating new parking and public transit subsidies for workers. This, the agency indicated, would help alleviate the issue. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing TSA officers, contract negotiations began this summer and are expected to continue into December.
Goldfeder also credited airlines for their response to his and Ulrich’s letter campaign calling on collaboration regarding the parking issue. According to Goldfeder, seven out of the 10 major airlines that were contacted sent responses. As Goldfeder and Ulrich reported last month, the major passenger and freight airline companies confirmed on-site parking policies for employees and pledged to continue their partnership with the community.
“It is vital that all those employees and travelers at JFK Airport do their part to be good neighbors,” Ulrich said in September. “I applaud the airlines that pride themselves on being good community partners who have already taken the necessary steps to prevent their employees from parking on residential streets.”
Last Thursday, Goldfeder addressed the JFK Chamber of Commerce. Some members posited that the particular parking problem might, in part, stem from hourly-wage employees that save money by parking on area streets.
Goldfeder said he pledged to work with the Chamber and Port Authority to find ways to make parking more affordable.
“We have seen a small portion of the issue alleviated in recent months but we’re nowhere near dealing with the problem entirely,” Goldfeder acknowledged. “At this point, we’re trying to encourage cooperation and involve all the various partners so that we can find a lasting solution.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
