New York. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Navy sought to acquire the property, as well as surrounding land, as soon as possible. Artemus Gates, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, wrote a letter to La Guardia stating that the Navy was willing to take over control of Bennett Field for a price of $9.75 million. This offer was substantially less than La Guardia's asking price of $15 million, and it took into account the valuation of the WPA improvements and existing military facilities. On February 9, 1942, the Navy submitted a "declaration of taking" that would allow it to acquire most of the desired land for $9.25 million. Nine days later, on February 18, the rest of Bennett Field became part of NAS New York. Most prior leases were terminated, but the Coast Guard was allowed to stay if its operations did not conflict with the Navy's. This meant that the NYPD aviation unit at Floyd Bennett Field was forced to relocate for the duration of the war. The expanded naval base totaled over . This consisted of of the existing airfield; the combined that belonged to the Coast Guard and Navy; and the combined that belonged to the remaining Barren Island residents. The Navy had also wanted to buy on the west side of Flatbush Avenue, which was reserved for a future expansion of Marine Park. However, New York City Parks Department Commissioner Robert Moses prevented the purchase from happening. Some of the money from the transaction was to go toward improving Marine Park. World War II The Navy awarded the first contract for upgrades to Floyd Bennett Field on December 17, 1941. The Navy's Design Division developed most of the expansion plans instead of contracting them out. It graded the undeveloped land to 16 feet to make it level with the rest of the airport. Demolition of the future barracks site on the western side of the field started in spring 1941. Because newer craft necessitated longer runways, a new Runway 6-24 was built on the northern side of the field, and three existing runways were expanded so that all four runways measured long by wide. The Navy built a seaplane hangar and two seaplane runways, as well as extended the taxiways and roads. It also constructed facilities for officers on Bennett Field's eastern side, such as barracks, training rooms,