Crowley Urges Quick OK For Delta LaG Deal

Congressmember Joseph Crowley (D-Queens/The Bronx) has asked U.S. authorities to quickly approve the slot exchange agreement between Delta Airlines and US Airways and pave the way for Delta’s $117 million new terminal at LaGuardia Airport.

With his eye on the jobs and economic benefits that would flow from building the new terminal, Crowley stated:

“We must do everything we can to create jobs and put New Yorkers back to work. Delta’s plan to invest in Queens is exactly the kind of private sector initiative we need to keep our area economy moving forward. I relayed to Attorney General Eric Holder my strong support for this deal and the benefits it would have for both Queens and New York and urged him to ensure the Department of Justice would approve it as soon as possible.”

Crowley pointed out that under the slot deal to trade off both airlines’ takeoff and arrivals at LaGuardia, Delta would give up some slots to US Airways at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. Then Delta could start building its new terminal to connect the Delta and US Airways terminals. An estimated 6,000 new jobs would be created and Delta would phase out older and louder turboprop planes for quieter jets, cutting noise pollution in residential neighborhoods near the airport.

Dromm: Limit Unjust Deportations From Rikers

Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) has introduced a bill that will prohibit Rikers Island Jail officials from using their resources to approve detainers placed on certain inmates by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

The proposed law would also prohibit the Department of Correction (DOC) from sharing information with ICE that could help facilitate the detention and deportation of inmates who are in some cases immigrants.

“What they are doing at Rikers is running an alien program rather than a criminal alien program,” said Dromm, who chairs the Council’s Committee on Immigrant Affairs.

“Many innocent immigrants are unfairly being detained and exported because of this broken immigration system,” Dromm declared. “We cannot allow the cooperation between ICE and the DOC to continue tearing families apart and destabilizing immigrant communities that pose no threat to public safety.”

—Compiled By John Toscano