NYC Takes Midweek ADIZ In Stride

The TFR that early Tuesday set an ADIZ for the Class B airspace surrounding New York City from the surface up to but not including 18,000 feet also closed down all operations (except commercial carrier traffic flying into LaGuardia) within seven nm of the U.N. through 4:30 p.m. yesterday. The wording was passed on to weather briefers with the usual moment’s notice and appears to have never made it to the FAA’s Web site, but area pilots — for the most part — took it in stride. A call to the manager’s office at non-towered Lincoln Park airfield tucked under the ADIZ in New Jersey was fielded by an individual who preferred not to be named (go figure), who offered, “The bottom line with the TFR is that it sucks, but it shouldn’t stop you from flying. People are moving in and out today.” At Republic field on Long Island, which operates with a control tower just inside the eastern boundary of the ADIZ, Assistant Airport Manager Shelly LaRose said business continued pretty much as usual with pilots receiving clearance and codes from the tower. New York-area pilots arguably fared better than ground-bound motorists — the city’s FDR drive (the highway that borders the east side of Manhattan and passes nearby and under the U.N. building) will have one section closed all week.