RELEASE: Gottheimer Calls on the NJDEP to Rescind Eviction Notices for Andover-Aeroflex Airport

Above: Gottheimer visits Andover-Aeroflex Airport with Woman-Owned Small Business Owner, Damian DelGaizo, and Andover Mayor Thomas Walsh Jr.

ANDOVER, NJ — Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) toured and then spoke at Andover-Aeroflex Airport after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) moved to evict the woman-owned Andover Flight Academy, the airport’s aircraft maintenance shop, and several other aircraft owners from their hangars. The flight school teaches military pilots how to land on short runways and in open fields. Gottheimer announced he is sending a letter to Governor Mikie Sherrill and NJDEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak urging them to rescind the eviction notices, which were mailed last week by the NJDEP Commissioner to the small business owners. Gottheimer is asking the NJDEP to work with the Governor’s office, tenants, local leaders, and his office on a plan that will keep these small businesses at Aeroflex. Gottheimer is also calling on the NJDEP Commissioner to come and tour the facility with him and provide further explanation for the closure. 

Watch Gottheimer’s full remarks here.

Gottheimer sent this letter to the Governor and NJDEP Commissioner, Ed Potosnak. 

“I’m frustrated, and so are the people standing next to me,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “I’m not going to let you guys get thrown out. It’s not happening. We’re going to fight this thing.”

New Jersey’s own site claims that it would cost $4.7 million to make repairs the state wants to the hangars and $8 million to demolish them. The state is planning to demolish the location — costing taxpayers double. 

• Multiple discrepancies were identified in the NJDEP’s reasons for issuing evictions. The agency falsely reported that the building lacked running water — a claim that would also make the location unsuitable for the NJ Forest Fire Service — but Gottheimer found the water was working just fine (VIDEO).
• NJDEP also claims that the evictions will create necessary additional space for the NJ Forest Fire Service, which was “sharing space and had their items placed in a corner of the hangar.” But, upon touring the facility, there appeared to be ample available space within the Forest Fire Service’s designated individual hangar area (VIDEO).
• The NJDEP claimed that the flight school office was in disrepair, but that could not have been further from the truth (VIDEO).

New Jersey is short on hangar space, and pilots wait years on lists for a spot. The Andover Aeroflex is one of only two remaining airports in Sussex County, New Jersey, and the only site within 100 miles that trains pilots on how to land on shorter runways and in open spaces.  The school also draws in many pilots from around the country to learn, like actor Harrison Ford (VIDEO), which also greatly helps the local economy. 

Many of the planes at Aeroflex are antiques with fabric skins that the sun and rain would wreck if left outside. If the flight school and the shop are lost, the airport loses the small businesses that bring in pilots and revenue, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has warned this puts the whole airport at risk of becoming a glorified parking lot. 

Gottheimer criticized the NJDEP’s lack of transparency through this entire process. His office has repeatedly requested information and a timeline from the department and has received almost nothing in return. In his letter, Gottheimer asks Governor Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, to rescind the eviction notices and direct the NJDEP to work with her office, the tenants, local leaders, and his office on a plan that keeps these businesses at Aeroflex. 

Additionally, the NJDEP says the hangar is unsafe, yet still allows the New Jersey Forest Fire Service to use it, a double standard that makes no sense. And the numbers don’t add up. The state’s own engineering assessment calls for roughly $4.7 million in renovations. Their assessment claims the demolition would cost $8 million — nearly twice the price.  Construction of a replacement building for the Fire Service would be more than $11 million. A licensed engineer who walked the property found the buildings in fair condition with no outstanding code violations, and said targeted repairs would cost only about $267,000.

Gottheimer is calling for no evictions until a clear timeline is set with a solution that does not hurt small businesses and families, and for the NJDEP Commissioner to tour the facility and see firsthand the status of the airport.

Gottheimer was joined by Andover Mayor Thomas D. Walsh Jr., Andover Flight Academy Founder Damien DelGaizo, and Andover Flight Academy Owner Justine Pasniewski.

Below: Gottheimer visits Andover-Aeroflex Airport.

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