STEWART AIRPORT – Officials of the Port Authority maintain that they bought Stewart Airport near Newburgh for the long term development and growth.

While not much is going on there now, particularly because of the recession, those officials are looking toward better times, and they could also mean more land for economic and job development.

A little more than half of the 2,000 acres at the airport are useable and Port Authority Aviation Director William DeCota said they are looking to expand the airport’s boundaries.

“Functionally there are only 1,300 acres of land at the airport. And when you take out the 806 of airside, which excludes the hills, the 513 acres of landside, the fact is there is not a lot of land there,” he said. DeCota has had “some very good discussions” with the Orange County Industrial Development Agency and others about expanding the airport’s borders. “There are vacant properties around the airport that are not within the airport lease line that are possible,” he said.

The county has had discussions about swapping some land it owns adjacent to the airport with land on the other side of the road.