Press Release Article

FIVE SOUTHERN BERGEN COUNTY STUDENTS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS AS TETERBORO AIRPORT HOSTS ANNUAL BENEFIT GOLF TOURNAMENT

Date: Sep 05, 2003
Press Release Number: 118-2003

The Port Authority today announced that five students from southern Bergen County have been selected to receive scholarships as part of Teterboro Airport’s 19th Annual Community Scholarship Benefit Golf Tournament, to be held Monday, September 8, at the Basking Ridge Country Club in Basking Ridge, N.J.

Since its inception, the scholarship program has raised more than $60,000 for high school students in southern Bergen County who are pursuing degrees in aviation-related fields.

Many of the airport tenants and nearby businesses have participated in the charity event over the past two decades and find it a great opportunity to encourage students to pursue careers in the aviation industry.

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, \"At the Port Authority, we are firmly committed to being good neighbors to the people who live, work and learn near our facilities. This program is one of many we offer at Teterboro to meet that commitment.\"

Port Authority Executive Director Joseph J. Seymour said, \"This charity event is an excellent example of the various ways our community outreach programs are designed to benefit young people in this region. We also offer educational tours, career days and airport open houses.\"

Teterboro Airport Manager Lanny Rider said, \"This airport is an important part of the local community. More than 1,200 men and women work at Teterboro, and 94 percent of these people live in neighborhoods within a few miles of the airport. In addition, more than 5,000 others are employed in off-airport businesses that are directly related to airport operations.\"

The following students received scholarships this year:

Paul Fontana, Wood-Ridge High School.
Richard Krajunus, Becton Regional High School, East Rutherford.
Cassandra De’Esposito, Ridgefield Park Jr.-Sr. High School.
Christian Perez, Bogota Jr. & Sr. High School.
Philip Warmuz, Hasbrouck Heights Jr. & Sr. High School.

The scholarship program is just one element of the airport’s concerted effort to provide educational value to airport neighbors. The airport also hosts the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame Museum, which has thousands of annual visitors, most of whom are Bergen County students. Numerous other community events are held at the airport every year to further benefit and serve the children near Teterboro Airport, including the annual Wings and Wheels Exhibit and the Bergen County United Way 5K Run. The airport also provides Little League and soccer fields at no cost to several local municipalities.

The Port Authority has a strong record of supporting efforts to improve the quality of life for residents in and around Bergen County, including investing tens of millions of dollars to soundproof nearby schools, instituting an aggressive noise-fighting program that bans any airplane if it receives three noise violations, and prohibiting airlines and operators from providing scheduled service, which maintains the airport as a general aviation facility.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates some of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; the George Washington Bridge; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH rapid-transit system; the Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.