By Keldy Ortiz-Newsday
The state Department of Transportation has hired Anthony Ceglio, a former airport manager at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, as the new director for Republic Airport.
Ceglio, 58, of Bayport, started working at the Farmingdale airport on Sept. 3, said Frank Nocerino, chairman of the Republic Airport Commission. He’ll be introduced during the commission’s meeting on Oct. 6, which will be held via Zoom.
“I’m very happy that we have someone from Long Island, who understands all the workings of community groups,” Nocerino said. “The RAC Commission looks forward to working with him.”
Glenn Blain, a DOT spokesman, said Ceglio would be unavailable for an interview. Ceglio did not return a call from a cellphone registered to him. Blain also would not disclose Ceglio’s salary. A 2019 New York State job posting for the position lists the salary range from $107,800 to $136,042 annually.
Ceglio has been tasked with running the airport and delivering budget operational enhancements. He succeeds Gary Barnable, who retired in 2019, Nocerino said.
Ceglio worked at Gabreski Airport for 16 years, and his annual salary was $129,690, a Suffolk County spokeswoman said. Before working at Gabreski, Ceglio was the airport operations manager at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Josh Smith, 35, assistant airport manager at Gabreski, said Ceglio has worked with the local community to address noise complaints, an issue on the East End and in some of the neighborhoods around Republic Airport.
“He will listen to the community and see what he can do about it,” Smith said.
The New York State and Local Retirement System has not finalized Ceglio’s pension calculation since his Aug. 28 retirement from Gabreski, wrote Tania Lopez, a spokeswoman for the state comptroller’s office, in an email. Retirees under the age of 65 may choose to work for other employers, but their post-retirement earnings with a public employer are capped at $35,000 in a calendar year.
