Finding a spot on the beach for Fire Island's AIDS Memorial
A rendering of Charles Renfro's preliminary design of the planned Fire Island AIDS Memorial. Credit: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Daily Point
Erosion concerns engulf plans for monument to victims of epidemic
With shoreline erosion a constant concern, the Fire Island National Seashore superintendent is expressing doubts about the location for a proposed AIDS memorial between Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines.
Under a bipartisan bill proposed in both the Senate and the House of Representative last month, the Fire Island AIDS Memorial would commemorate those who suffered and died during the 1980-1990s epidemic and educate the public about its impact. The area is a longtime summer haven for many members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The proposed location for the AIDS memorial is on federal land, along a walkway between Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines, adjacent to the Carrington House, a historical landmark.
But Alexcy Romero, superintendent of the national seashore, says he thinks the memorial should be placed farther away from the beachfront than is currently planned. Fire Island has suffered much erosion from recent storms, he said, making that memorial vulnerable to future weather damage.
“I would support it but not on that current location,” Romero told The Point. He said it should be built “not on a vulnerable dune but further back so it’s protected. It’s got to be in an area that’s protected to create an experience that everyone can enjoy.”
One of the biggest proponents, Jay Pagano, a member and former president of the Fire Island Pines Property Owners' Association, disagrees. He said the proposed site “ is not traditionally” affected by erosion. “We have situated it so we can address any concern about erosion.”
Pagano said the proposed memorial site is about 200 yards from the ocean shoreline, while the placement suggested by Romero is farther back, about 800 yards from the ocean. Designs for the project show a sitting area and a dunelike sound reflector made of cemented sand to capture the sound of waves along with views of the ocean.
Pagano said the project is long overdue and is important to many on Fire Island. “I often get asked, ‘Why isn’t there a Fire Island memorial to the AIDS victims?' ”, said Pagano. He lived there during the epidemic, when he said “it seemed everyone was dying.”
A private foundation raising funds would oversee the project and, according to the legislation, no federal money would be used to design, install or maintain the memorial. Proponents hope the memorial will be in place by 2026. The bill was introduced Dec. 14 in the House by Republican Andrew Garbarino and in the Senate by Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat. The bill must be passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden before the project can go forward locally.
In the past, erosion has also been a concern at the Flight 800 International Memorial, located along the national seashore property but maintained by Suffolk County next to Smith Point County Park. It commemorates the 230 lives lost in 1996 when a TWA jet went down about 13 miles offshore from Fire Island. A county spokesman said there is currently no threat to that Flight 800 memorial, which has a stone sea wall as a protective barrier from the ocean front of the site. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said the Flight 800 memorial is about 120 yards from the oceanfront.
— Thomas Maier thomas.maier@newsday.com
Pencil Point
A tall order
Credit: PoliticalCartoons.com/John Cole
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Final Point
Pilip, Suozzi on same TV forum tonight, but not together
Television ad spending in the CD3 special election is quite unbalanced with those supporting Democrat Tom Suozzi outspending Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip by more than 3 to 1. As of Monday, the spending totals stood at $7.7 million for Suozzi and $2.2 million for Pilip.
Political analysts are waiting to see whether national Republicans make big ad buys Wednesday and Thursday for the final days before the Feb. 13 election. That could indicate whether the GOP is going all in to win the seat or saving some resources for this fall’s general election and an expected brutal battle for control of the House.
The lack of air support might be one reason why Pilip, who has accepted only one debate invitation and has answered very few questions from news reporters, is availing herself of free media.
Pilip taped an interview with PIX11 earlier on Tuesday that will air Tuesday night. Suozzi, who has made her refusal to do more debates an issue in the campaign, taped his segment Monday.
Pilip refused a PIX11 debate invitation but accepted the one-on-one with PIX11 political reporter Dan Mannarino. Other regional broadcast cable and television news outlets that offered debates or similar forums got refusals or no response from Pilip. WABC’s Bill Ritter went ahead with an interview with Suozzi on Sunday. “We invited Pilip to appear on ‘Up Close.’ Her campaign did not respond. We had also offered to host a debate here in our studio. Suozzi said yes while Pilip's campaign turned down that offer,” Ritter said on air.
Mannarino told The Point that the forum will feature the candidates’ back stories, then pivot to the big issues, which he said the station’s recent poll identified as immigration, crime, abortion and taxes. “We asked personal questions and who the candidates are voting for in 2024,” he said.
“News will be made tonight,” said Mannarino.
Suozzi has said he will vote for President Joe Biden if Biden is the nominee but Pilip, a registered Democrat, has not made her preference public.
The forum “PIX ON POLITICS: PILIP VS. SUOZZI — REPLACING SANTOS” airs at 7 p.m. but Suozzi will not be able to see much of it. He is holding a tele-town hall at 7:30 in which registered voters in CD3 who received an invitation can ask him questions. The event will be streamed on his website and Facebook page.
The misalignment of the town hall and the forum is one indication of how fast and furious the campaigns are working in the few weeks between George Santos’ expulsion and the special election.
The national Young Republicans group is organizing volunteers from other parts of the country to telephone CD3 residents. But the invitation for the Feb. 4 phonebank asks them to help flip a seat in Virginia for “Commissioner Mazi Phillip Brewer.”
A Young Republicans call to action, posted by a Semafor website reporter, on X, formerly Twitter, for a phonebank for Mazi Pilip that misspells her last name and mislabels the state.
A GOP phonebank effort last week was also sloppy and it sent supporters a script that read, in part: “Hi! My name is ____ and I am volunteering with George Santos for Congress.”
Another prompt asks whether knowing Santos is a “small business owner and animal advocate” would change how the voter feels about him.
Only two weeks to go.
— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com
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