Long Island Aviation History Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2369 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating Long Island’s aviation history, including a determina- tion of the suitability and feasibility of designating parts of the study area as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 25, 2019 Miss RICE of New York (for herself, Ms. MENG, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. KING of New York, and Mr. MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating Long Island’s aviation history, including a determination of the suit- ability and feasibility of designating parts of the study area as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Long Island Aviation 4 History Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2369 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Long Island has played an indispensable 3 role in the development of the aviation industry in 4 the United States. In particular, the Hempstead 5 Plains, Suffolk County Air Force Base, and parts of 6 Bethpage, Port Washington, and Farmingdale con- 7 tain notable landmarks of aviation history. 8 (2) The Hempstead Plains encompass approxi- 9 mately 950 acres east of Clinton Road and south of 10 Old Country Road in Garden City, New York, and 11 have been called the ‘‘Cradle of Aviation’’. 12 (3) In the early 20th century, the Hempstead 13 Plains had 3 major airfields, all of great historical 14 significance: Roosevelt Field, Curtiss Field, and 15 Mitchel Field. 16 (4) During World War I, the airfields of Hemp- 17 stead Plains were an important training center for 18 United States military pilots, as well as a major hub 19 for military aircraft research, development, and pro- 20 duction. 21 (5) The first transatlantic flight, carried out by 22 the U.S. Navy Curtiss NC–4 in 1919, took off from 23 Rockaway, New York, and cemented the United 24 States leading role in aviation innovation. This air- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2369 IH craft was built at the Curtiss factory in Garden 1 City—a building which still stands. 2 (6) Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York, 3 was the point of departure for Charles Lindbergh’s 4 famous transatlantic flight aboard the Spirit of St. 5 Louis completed on May 20, 1927. 6 (7) In 1929, Amelia Earhart and other pio- 7 neering women pilots founded the International Or- 8 ganization of Women Pilots, or the Ninety-Nines, at 9 Curtiss Field. 10 (8) Curtiss Field also served as the terminus 11 for transcontinental airmail from 1918–1929. 12 (9) In the 1930s, Roosevelt Field was the busi- 13 est civilian airfield in the United States, and played 14 a role in many other historic transcontinental, trans- 15 atlantic, and record-setting flights. 16 (10) Port Washington, New York, once known 17 as the ‘‘Plymouth Rock’’ of American aviation, was 18 Pan American World Airways’ trans-Atlantic hub on 19 Manhasset Isle from 1934 to 1940. 20 (11) During World War II, Long Island was a 21 crucial center of military aircraft production. These 22 aircraft, produced in huge numbers for the Army, 23 Navy, and foreign governments, were of excellent 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2369 IH quality and had a major impact on the course of the 1 war in all theaters. 2 (12) Most notably, the Grumman Aircraft Com- 3 pany, based in Bethpage, New York, and the Repub- 4 lic Aviation Corporation, based in Farmingdale, New 5 York, manufactured innovative planes that proved 6 highly valuable to the U.S. military such as Grum- 7 man’s F6F–3 Hellcat and Republic’s P–47 Thun- 8 derbolt. 9 (13) Mitchel Air Force Base, located on the 10 Hempstead Plains, served as the original location of 11 the Air Defense Command upon its inception in 12 1940, and was integral to the defense of the main- 13 land United States during World War II and there- 14 after. 15 (14) In 1951, the Suffolk County Air Force 16 Base, located in Westhampton, New York, became 17 the prime Air Defense Command base responsible 18 for defending the New York City metropolitan area 19 from all air attacks. 20 (15) In 1962, Grumman won the contract to 21 build the Lunar Module as part of the Apollo Pro- 22 gram, and in 1969 the first men traveled to the 23 moon aboard a spacecraft built with the expertise of 24 Long Island’s aviation industry. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2369 IH SEC. 3. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY. 1 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Interior shall con- 2 duct a special resource study of the study area. 3 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study under sub- 4 section (a), the Secretary shall— 5 (1) evaluate the national significance of the 6 study area based on an assessment of Long Island’s 7 aviation history; 8 (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 9 designating parts of the study area as a unit of the 10 National Park System commemorating Long Is- 11 land’s aviation history; 12 (3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 13 protection, and interpretation of the study area by 14 Federal, State, or local governmental entities, or pri- 15 vate and nonprofit organizations; 16 (4) identify properties related to Long Island’s 17 aviation history that could meet criteria for listing in 18 the National Register of Historic Places or criteria 19 for designation as National Historic Landmarks; 20 (5) consult with interested Federal, State, or 21 local governmental entities, private and nonprofit or- 22 ganizations, or any other interested individuals; 23 (6) consider the appropriate management op- 24 tions needed to ensure the protection, preservation, 25 and interpretation of the study area; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2369 IH (7) evaluate appropriate ways to enhance his- 1 torical research, education, interpretation, and pub- 2 lic awareness of Long Island’s aviation history; and 3 (8) identify cost estimates for any Federal ac- 4 quisition, development, interpretation, operation, and 5 maintenance associated with the alternatives. 6 (c) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ means 7 Long Island with a particular focus on the Hempstead 8 Plains, the areas surrounding Suffolk County Air Force 9 Base, the hamlet of Bethpage, the hamlet of Port Wash- 10 ington, and the village of Farmingdale. 11 (d) APPLICABLE LAW.—The study required under 12 subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with sec- 13 tion 100507 of title 54, United States Code. 14 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 15 on which funds are first made available for the study 16 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the 17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep- 18 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 19 Resources of the Senate a report containing the results 20 of the study and any conclusions and recommendations of 21 the Secretary. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Apr 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS