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====Preston Airfield==== Marlboro had an airport, [[List of airports in New Jersey|Preston Airfield]], which opened in 1954 and was in operation for almost 50 years. The airport was opened by Rhea Preston on his farm and consisted of two runways, one was {{convert|2400|ft|m}} as well as airplane hangars. It obtained a paved runway before 1972. In 1974, the airport had approximately 100 planes, 8 of which are used for air instruction.<ref>"Airport Weathers Fuel Crisis", Asbury Park Press, January 20, 1974, Page 74</ref> It won many awards and in 1974 was cited by the state Aviation Advisory Council as the "best maintained" airport.<ref>"Light Plane Airports Report Business as Usual", Asbury Park Press, April 6, 1975, page 43</ref> In 1975, the airport was given Planning Board approval to expand with 21 additional hangars and add an 840 square foot operations building.<ref name="Asbury Park Press 1975, Page 8">"Board Favors Airport Plans", Asbury Park Press, December 5, 1975, Page 8</ref> Exact records are not known as to when it changed its name to [[List of airports in New Jersey|Marlboro Airport]]. The [[PNC Bank Arts Center|Garden State Art Center]] was known to have used the airport to fly in entertainers such as [[Jimmy Buffett]], [[Jon Bon Jovi]], and [[Howard Stern]] for performances.<ref>"A History Rich in Lore - and Soil", Asbury Park Press, February 9, 2006, Page 88</ref> Planning board records reflect the intention to make this change in 1976.<ref name="Asbury Park Press 1975, Page 8"/> The NJ department of Transportation provided $4.8 million to expand Preston Airport.<ref>"$313 Million Plan Disclosed to Upgrade Aviation Facilities", Asbury Park Press, February 1, 1978, Page 3</ref> In 1979, the airport was described as having a single runway {{convert|2200|ft|m}} long. The airport was used for private aviation (Fixed wing as well as helicopters)<ref>"Student Pilot Safely Lands Malfunctioning Helicopter", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 1978, Page 51</ref> as well as having a private school for flying instruction.<ref>"Back in Business", Asbury Park Press, August 18, 1968, Page 12</ref> In 2000, the airport was purchased by Marlboro Holdings LLC owned by [[Anthony Spalliero]] who closed it with the intent to redevelop the airport into housing.<ref>[https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/NJ/Airfields_NJ_E.htm#marlboro Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Eastern New Jersey], Paul Freeman, updated July 10, 2015. Accessed July 16, 2015.</ref> To foster the case for redevelopment, Spalliero donated land holdings he had near the airport to the township board of education, which was used to develop the Marlboro Early Learning Center, a school specialized for [[kindergarten]] classes. Following a $100,000 pay-off<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/pdffiles/Older/spallieroSupIndictment0320.pdf ''United States Of America vs. Anthony Spalliero And Joseph Spalliero''], United States District Court of New Jersey. Accessed January 4, 2012.</ref> to former mayor [[Matthew Scannapieco]] the planning board used the distance to the new school as justification to close the airfield<ref>Vilacoba, Karl. [https://www1.gmnews.com/2002/10/23/spalliero-taking-marlboro-back-to-court-over-homes/ "Spalliero taking Marlboro back to court over homes; Lawsuit targets land that housed airport for 50 years"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804050045/https://www1.gmnews.com/2002/10/23/spalliero-taking-marlboro-back-to-court-over-homes/ |date=August 4, 2018 }}, ''News Transcript'', October 23, 2002. Accessed January 20, 2018.</ref> citing a reference to a fatal plane crash in 1997.<ref>McKinley, Jesse. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/13/nyregion/new-jersey-daily-briefing-cause-of-plane-crash-sought.html "New Jersey Daily Briefing; Cause of Plane Crash Sought"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 13, 1997. Accessed August 30, 2015.</ref> Part of the airport has now been developed into Marlboro Memorial Cemetery which now borders the defunct airfield.<ref>sing [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=marlboro,+nj&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=55.718442,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Marlboro+Township,+Monmouth,+New+Jersey&ll=40.364989,-74.25465&spn=0.00663,0.009645&t=h&z=17 Google Maps], you can still see the disused airfield. In the most current image, some of the landing strip is overgrown but a large yellow "X" is painted at each end of the runway to show it is no longer used. The cemetery can be seen on the side of the landing strip to the north. The Marlboro Early Learning Center is the U-shaped gray building to the north-west of the runway with a large parking lot. The current image also shows the [[Henry Hudson Trail]] crossing the eastern edge of the runway.</ref> The other part of the airfield has been absorbed into the Monmouth County Park System.
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