SOS
05-14-2005, 12:04 AM
story (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/nyregion/14york.html?)
I dont see how this can help the military.
Pentagon's Plan Brings Relief and Dismay
By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: May 14, 2005
No state in the New York metropolitan region escaped unscathed from the Pentagon's list of recommended base closings yesterday, but if measured against expectations, New York came out ahead, New Jersey broke even and Connecticut lost badly.
The list called for shutting the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., the state's single major military installation and one of its prime economic pillars. By the Pentagon's calculations, closing the naval base would eliminate nearly 8,500 military and civilian jobs.
The Pentagon also recommended closing three of Connecticut's Army Reserve stations and scaling back the Air Guard Station at Bradley International Airport. In all, the recommended measures would cost the state 8,586 jobs, a tally exceeded, according to Pentagon calculations, in only one other state: Maryland, with 9,293.
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said the Pentagon's decision to close the naval base was "cruel and unusual punishment that Connecticut does not deserve."
For decades, the naval base and the nearby Electric Boat shipyard have been mainstays of the Connecticut economy, and by the early 1990's, the cluster of defense industries in southeastern Connecticut was perhaps the single largest employer in the region, said John Markowicz, chairman of the Subase Realignment Coalition, which is made up of business and government officials who have been campaigning to keep the base open.
Since then, the defense work force there has been slashed and surpassed in numbers by the casino industry's. But a study released this month by Gov. M. Jodi Rell said that the naval base, a related submarine school and a shipyard still contribute about $3.3 billion to the state's economy and support 31,500 jobs.
The list is not final. It goes to the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, which can add or subtract bases before submitting a final roster by Sept. 8. President Bush and Congress must accept or reject that list by Nov. 7. In the meantime, many of the targeted bases and the communities that rely on them will lobby fiercely for a reprieve.
In New Jersey, the Pentagon's biggest target was Fort Monmouth, a major military base whose proposed closing would end 5,272 jobs.
The list also urged closing or realigning several small bases in New Jersey, but adding more than 1,800 positions to the work force at four bases, including Picatinny Arsenal and Fort Dix. In total, the state would have a net loss of 3,760 jobs, the Pentagon said.
"It's a mixed bag," said Alex Formuzis, a spokesman for Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey.
The prevailing sentiment yesterday in the Jersey Shore communities surrounding Fort Monmouth was less calm. "Obviously it's not a good day," said Mayor Maria Gatta of Oceanport, N.J., where many businesses draw clients from the base. "We're not going to sit back and say, 'Thank you very much.' We're going to work hard to get off this list."
The heaviest blow in New York was the recommended closing of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, which is Niagara County's second-largest employer and home to the 914th Air Lift Wing and the 107th Air Refueling Wing. Personnel would be sent to bases in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine and Texas. According to the Pentagon, the move would cost 642 jobs, although a local advocacy group created to promote the base says it employs more than 3,000 people.
Merrell A. Lane, chairman of the group, estimated that the base generates $150 million a year for the state's economy. "The way things are in western New York," he said, "it would be a real struggle to absorb the loss of another employer."
The Pentagon also recommended closing or shrinking 11 other small bases or military offices around New York, including the dissolution of a finance and accounting unit at Griffiss Business and Technology Park, in Rome, and trimming 137 jobs in a neighboring high-tech military research laboratory.
Still, the feeling among many public officials was that the state had dodged a bullet.
"We are all relieved," Senator Charles E. Schumer said. "The glass is 3/4 full, which is a lot better than we thought it would be at the beginning of the week."
Jason George contributed reporting from Oceanport, N.J., for this article, and David Stabafrom Niagara Falls, N.Y.
I dont see how this can help the military.
Pentagon's Plan Brings Relief and Dismay
By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: May 14, 2005
No state in the New York metropolitan region escaped unscathed from the Pentagon's list of recommended base closings yesterday, but if measured against expectations, New York came out ahead, New Jersey broke even and Connecticut lost badly.
The list called for shutting the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., the state's single major military installation and one of its prime economic pillars. By the Pentagon's calculations, closing the naval base would eliminate nearly 8,500 military and civilian jobs.
The Pentagon also recommended closing three of Connecticut's Army Reserve stations and scaling back the Air Guard Station at Bradley International Airport. In all, the recommended measures would cost the state 8,586 jobs, a tally exceeded, according to Pentagon calculations, in only one other state: Maryland, with 9,293.
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said the Pentagon's decision to close the naval base was "cruel and unusual punishment that Connecticut does not deserve."
For decades, the naval base and the nearby Electric Boat shipyard have been mainstays of the Connecticut economy, and by the early 1990's, the cluster of defense industries in southeastern Connecticut was perhaps the single largest employer in the region, said John Markowicz, chairman of the Subase Realignment Coalition, which is made up of business and government officials who have been campaigning to keep the base open.
Since then, the defense work force there has been slashed and surpassed in numbers by the casino industry's. But a study released this month by Gov. M. Jodi Rell said that the naval base, a related submarine school and a shipyard still contribute about $3.3 billion to the state's economy and support 31,500 jobs.
The list is not final. It goes to the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, which can add or subtract bases before submitting a final roster by Sept. 8. President Bush and Congress must accept or reject that list by Nov. 7. In the meantime, many of the targeted bases and the communities that rely on them will lobby fiercely for a reprieve.
In New Jersey, the Pentagon's biggest target was Fort Monmouth, a major military base whose proposed closing would end 5,272 jobs.
The list also urged closing or realigning several small bases in New Jersey, but adding more than 1,800 positions to the work force at four bases, including Picatinny Arsenal and Fort Dix. In total, the state would have a net loss of 3,760 jobs, the Pentagon said.
"It's a mixed bag," said Alex Formuzis, a spokesman for Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey.
The prevailing sentiment yesterday in the Jersey Shore communities surrounding Fort Monmouth was less calm. "Obviously it's not a good day," said Mayor Maria Gatta of Oceanport, N.J., where many businesses draw clients from the base. "We're not going to sit back and say, 'Thank you very much.' We're going to work hard to get off this list."
The heaviest blow in New York was the recommended closing of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, which is Niagara County's second-largest employer and home to the 914th Air Lift Wing and the 107th Air Refueling Wing. Personnel would be sent to bases in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine and Texas. According to the Pentagon, the move would cost 642 jobs, although a local advocacy group created to promote the base says it employs more than 3,000 people.
Merrell A. Lane, chairman of the group, estimated that the base generates $150 million a year for the state's economy. "The way things are in western New York," he said, "it would be a real struggle to absorb the loss of another employer."
The Pentagon also recommended closing or shrinking 11 other small bases or military offices around New York, including the dissolution of a finance and accounting unit at Griffiss Business and Technology Park, in Rome, and trimming 137 jobs in a neighboring high-tech military research laboratory.
Still, the feeling among many public officials was that the state had dodged a bullet.
"We are all relieved," Senator Charles E. Schumer said. "The glass is 3/4 full, which is a lot better than we thought it would be at the beginning of the week."
Jason George contributed reporting from Oceanport, N.J., for this article, and David Stabafrom Niagara Falls, N.Y.