By Bryan Schwartzman
The Port Authority announced Friday at York College that along with Gov. George Pataki it would help fund a new Aviation Institute at the school, which is located near John F. Kennedy International Airport and only a few miles from LaGuardia Airport on the north side of the borough.
York College President Charles Kidd said the institute, which will take in its first students in the spring of 2002, will prepare York College students to fill managerial positions in the aviation industry. Air transportation is the second largest employer in Queens behind the health care industry, according to New York State Department of Labor statistics for 1998.
The $8,000 grant will not only enable students to get a foot in the door of the competitive and complex industry, it will be a step toward solving the industry
