DeCota, N.Y.-N.J. aviation chief, dead at 52

DeCota, N.Y.-N.J. aviation chief, dead at 52    William R. DeCota, 52, aviation director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, died last Friday.
   A resident of Old Bridge, N.J., DeCota was named aviation director in December 1999, overseeing five airports that handled 100 million passengers annually. He joined the agency as a financial analyst in 1982 and was deputy director before become aviation director.
   DeCota was involved in many high profile projects at the agency’s airports including its takeover of Stewart Airport in 2007, which the agency hopes to develop into a major hub to supplement John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, and Teterboro airports.
   The agency was also involved in a dispute last year with the Bush administration over its proposal to auction off flight slots at New York-area airports to the highest bidder, arguing it would raise ticket prices with no improvements in service.
   The auction plan has been canceled by the Obama administration, and the agency issued a statement in May saying it applauded Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's “common-sense approach to dealing with the metropolitan area’s flight delays.”
   The agency has been a part of a National Alliance to Advance NextGen to replace current air-traffic technology with NextGen GPS technology, which it said would route planes much more efficiently.