The city of Bridgeport filed a lawsuit Friday to stop the sale of the old Army Engine Plant in Stratford to a developer, as the fight over the piece of land continues.

Stratford's mayor says a developer was set to close on the property and turn it into a multi-media production studio. However, Bridgeport says it needs some of the property to create a runway safety zone at Sikorsky Memorial Airport right across the street.

The land in dispute is a little more than an acre at the very end of the plant's property line. It's across the street from Runway 624 and adjacent to 15 acres of land Bridgeport started purchasing after a deadly plane crash there.

?We don't want that to happen again,? Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch says referring to the crash. ?I don't understand why people are playing politics with airplane safety.?

Bridgeport says it has almost all of the land it needs to add the safety zone, but it needs that last acre.

?Bridgeport, as it pertains to the airport, needs to respect the citizens of Stratford,? the town?s Mayor Jim Miron says. ?You can't come in over the top of the citizens of Stratford and dictate to us how you are going to do something.?

Although Bridgeport owns the airport, it lies entirely in Stratford and the mayor says the town doesn't have any input when it comes to airport issues.