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Councilman Polensek says Mayor Bibb is trying to kill Burke Lakefront Airport through neglect
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Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Mike Polensek told Council President Blaine Griffin there is no vote to close the lakefront airport and accused City Hall of disinvestment. Mayor Justin Bibb is still pushing redevelopment after the FAA and Sen. Bernie Moreno said they would not support a shutdown.
Days before the Cleveland National Air Show, Councilman Mike Polensek emailed Council President Blaine Griffin saying there is no legislation or vote to close Burke Lakefront Airport, calling Mayor Justin Bibb rogue, and accusing the administration of trying to kill the airport through neglect and disinvestment. News 5 said Polensek wants more council hearings so Burke can produce jobs. Bibb has kept pushing to close the 450-acre lakefront field after the FAA and Sen. Bernie Moreno said they would not support a shutdown; Ideastream reported City Hall will still pursue an FAA waiver, an act of Congress, or waiting until 2039. A pilots group released a video to keep the airport open. Fox 8 said organizers warn the air show would end if Burke closes.
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Cleveland Councilman sends scathing email on Mayor Bibb’s plan to close Burke Lakefront Airport
3 Sep 2026
Facts
Polensek wrote that there is no legislation pending before City Council to close Burke.
Polensek wrote that the mayor is operating rogue and everyone knows it.
Polensek is asking how much the Bibb administration has spent lobbying the FAA and Washington lawmakers to close the airport.
Polensek wrote about losing the jail, the Browns to Brook Park, and 18 schools that closed.
Opinion
Cleveland 19 described Polensek's accusations as dropping a bomb.
Polensek wrote that it is clear Bibb wants to give everything away.
Polensek wrote that he is tired of council being disrespected by the administration.
Polensek wrote that he guesses Bibb likes losing, and that he does not.
Councilman accuses Cleveland mayor of trying to kill Burke Lakefront Airport through neglect
3 Sep 2026
Facts
Councilman Michael Polensek is calling for council hearings on the future of Burke Lakefront Airport.
Polensek urged colleagues to schedule hearings on turning the downtown airport into jobs and opportunity.
The Bibb administration has described Burke as an underutilized public asset.
Ohio's U.S. senators have said they will not support closing the airport.
Burke Lakefront Airport has been home to the Cleveland air show since 1964.
Matthew Orr has attended the air show for more than 20 years and said he has no plans to stop.
No formal redevelopment plan has been announced.
Opinion
Polensek said if officials do not make common sense decisions, then shame on all of them.
Polensek said he is seeing things that concern him greatly and is living in a world he does not understand.
Matthew Orr said he thinks Cleveland needs the airport.
Polensek said he does not like losing and that the city is losing too much.
Orr said if Burke closed and the air show ended, he would not come downtown.
Orr said the airport has been a part of Cleveland for as long as he can remember.
I-Team: New video on saving Burke Lakefront Airport
3 Sep 2026
Facts
A pilots group produced a new video trying to build support to save Burke Lakefront Airport.
The Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association posted a video highlighting Burke's role in medical flights, training, and business.
Big crowds were expected at Burke Lakefront Airport this weekend for another air show.
Fox 8 said the mayor is still pushing plans that could involve a golf course, trails, and a sports complex for kids.
The mayor responded that more is to come soon.
Organizers have said that if Burke closes, the Cleveland National Air Show as it is known now will end.
A study done for the air show found it generates $17 million a year for the local economy.
Airport supporters will get to argue their case before City Council.
The air show study found more than $2 million a year in taxes.
The date for the next Cleveland City Council hearing on Burke has not been set.
Opinion
A businessman on the video said Burke is almost indispensable as a business development tool.
Lewis said the air show is a huge economic driver for Northeast Ohio and the city.
Cleveland Mayor not backing down on plan to close Burke Lakefront Airport
18 Aug 2026
Facts
Trivisonno said City Hall will still pursue every option it has to close Burke.
Trivisonno said that includes seeing if the political climate changes after November's midterm elections.
Waiting until 2039 is when the city's state and federal grant obligations would expire.
Bedford told News 5 the country does not have enough airspace as it is.
In October, Bibb and County Executive Chris Ronayne sent letters to U.S. officials.
Trivisonno had told council the FAA waiver would be difficult.
Trivisonno said Moreno had asked city officials to engage the FAA first before he would consider an act of Congress.
Moreno pointed to Anduril and Joby choosing plants near Columbus and Dayton because of access to airports.
Sen. Jon Husted's office told News 5 he would defer to the FAA.
Trivisonno said Burke currently loses as much as $1.7 million each year.
Trivisonno said closing Burke would open two miles of lakefront shoreline for residents.
Rep. Shontel Brown had previously come out in support of closing Burke.
The airport has been open since 1947.
Opinion
Jessica Trivisonno told Ideastream that City Hall still believes closing Burke is best for lakefront access and economic development.
Moreno said politicians trying to override the experts makes no sense.
Trivisonno said it is proven that the land's best use is not aviation.
Trivisonno said redeveloping the 450 acres would drive much more economic impact than Burke.
Trivisonno said not closing the lakefront airport would be a missed opportunity for Cleveland.
Trivisonno said the site has opportunity to be economically and socially impactful and accessible for Clevelanders.
Bibb talked closing Burke Airport with federal official, Congress reps
15 Aug 2026
Facts
Mayor Justin Bibb talked to decisionmakers in Washington this summer about closing Burke Lakefront Airport.
Signal Cleveland said that lobbying effort did not appear to sway a U.S. senator.
City Hall spokesperson Tyler Sinclair said the meetings were productive and presented plans regarding Burke's closure.
City Hall said it was disheartened that the federal position appears to bypass the best interests of Clevelanders and Ohioans.
Sinclair said Mayor Bibb remains committed to advancing lakefront development.
In June, Bibb met throughout the day with Moreno, Sen. Jon Husted, and U.S. representatives.
AOPA's Kyle Lewis said the group had worked behind the scenes for months voicing opposition to closing Burke.
Lewis said the city should work with the FAA to develop an airport master plan for Burke.
Bibb broke for lunch with Paul Doerrer, one of the city's aviation lobbyists.
Opinion
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