Talking Points: Sample Letters

We, as residents of Fire Island, call on you to use the power of your office to help us recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy. Although we were promised assistance without "red tape," when we desperately need to replenishing our lost dunes, "red tape" is unfortunately all we see. We've been told to follow the usual rules, which do not allow us to protect our island, or to rebuild out beaches. These are not ordinary times.


As the dunes on Fire Island protect structures and lives on Fire Island from the violent ocean swells, so does Fire Island itself protects the South Shore of Long Island. Our dunes protect Fire Island and Fire Island protects Long Island in essentially the same way. There is little doubt that without Fire Island the highly populated South Shore of Long Island would be in ever worse shape than it is today.


Therefore, it is imperative that all government agencies, among them FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), The Fire Island National Seashore, Suffolk County, the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, and all others who claim jurisdiction over Fire Island immediately join together to dredge and relocated sand from the Fire Island Inlet to the dune line of the south facing beaches of Fire Island.

The rebuilding of the Fire Island dunes is essential.

Please help us preserve Fire Island, and protect the south shore of Long Island.

Sincerely,


SEND TO:


US Senate

Hon. Charles E. Schumer
313 Hart Building,
Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6542 fax 228-3027
http://www.schumer.senate.gov/

145 Pinelawn Road
Suite 300 North
Melville, NY 11747
(631) 753-0978 fax 753-0997
District Director Gerard Petrella
Gerry_Petrella@schumer.senate.gov



Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand
476 Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4451 fax 228-0282

155 Pinelawn Road, Suite 250 North
Melville, NY 11747
(631) 249-2825 fax -2847
District Director Kristin Walsh
Kristin_walsh@senate.clinton.gov

US Congress

Hon. Peter King
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-7896 fax (202) 226-2279

1003 Park Boulevard
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
(516) 541-4225 fax -6602
Suffolk County (631) 541-4225
Pete.King@mail.house.gov


Town of Islip
Tom Croci Town Supervisor
Town Hall
655 Main St
Islip, New York 11751

supervisorsoffice(at)townofislip-ny.gov

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
(518) 474-8390



Joe Martens, Commissioner
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-0001
(518) 402-8545

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For a contrary view:

Newsday letter to editor  11/12/12

Now that the devastation to the urbanized barrier beaches of Long Island is being evaluated, there are already cries of "we will rebuild" -- forgetting, as always, the hazards of a rising sea level ["Help region get back on its feet," Editorial, Nov. 9]. The flooding and devastation apply to the expensive urban infrastructure, but there are also thick layers of sand deposits.


This washover sand indicates the natural method for island preservation. In the 12,000 years since the end of the ice age, our barrier islands have migrated landward about 100 feet per century. The gradual encroachment of wind, waves and tides undermines the dunes and pushes the beach and dune sand back across the island. For Sandy, it was 500 feet.

The sand should stay there! It marks the proverbial line in the sand where the ocean processes will now operate, and where the center of the island should be. Yet, the bulldozers are already out there, pushing the sand back into the ocean to make dunes.

The first 500 feet of the high-tide line should be abandoned, once the debris is removed, and returned to the natural system to let nature determine where the new beach and dunes will be. This will usually mean the loss of two blocks of homes and stores, the Ocean Parkway and Dune Road -- a terrible disaster!

But one has only to view the current homes, etc., on beaches to see where the effects of 50 years of "we will rebuild" have brought us.

Fred Wolff, Ridge
Editor's note: The writer is an emeritus professor of geology at Hofstra University.