Pines Party Recap, Weekend Happenings, and More

FIPPOA

Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association

Photo credit - Isaac Namdar

Greetings!

Pines Party

Wow! What a fabulous weekend it was. Approximately 3,500 attendees, including a record number of corporate sponsors, tent revelers, and VIP holders, made this past weekend one of the most successful in all its history dating back to 1999! At the Pines Foundation’s next board meeting, we will vote to make a grant to the Stonewall Community Foundation and will also strengthen our own community budget with (likely) record-breaking net proceeds which will be spent within the Pines to fund FIPPOA’s many foundation eligible expenses and programs.

We are beyond grateful to Allan Baum (Executive Producer), Guy Smith (Producer), Patrick Forrett and Jeff Staadt (Co-chairs), the amazing Pines Party Committee that spends an entire year planning the weekend of events, the FIPPOA staff, and the (literally) hundreds of community volunteers who do everything from deliver ice to the bar, to design and decorate the venue, to construct and deconstruct the sets – much of which occurs in the day and week leading up to the big weekend. “Return to Wonderland” felt more like “Return to the Pines!” And boy did it, in a very big and joyous way. I am also grateful to FIPPOA and Northwell Health for their partnership in providing Covid testing and enhanced attendance guidelines for the indoor event held during the weekend. And a special shout out to the Seashore Defense Fund and Pines Liquor shop-led team that will sweep the beach this Saturday to gather any remaining debris and return our beach to its pre-party condition.

In case you missed any of this and still want to participate, the auction remains live until midnight, August 7th, and please view the impressive 176 page journal full of pictures, advertisements, acknowledgment and journalistic experiences for the Pines Party weekend.

Brown's River Dredging

Ken Stein from Sayville Ferry Service and New York State Senator Alexis Weik organized a press conference to encourage progress on the emergency dredging of Browns River. Browns River is the waterway that connects SFS, Coastline, and other recreational and commercial vessels to the Great South Bay for access to/from the Pines. For decades, the waterway was dredged every 8 years, but has not been done in any of the past 17 years. We are in a critical situation. There is growing concern that the water is now so shallow at low tide as to soon prevent vessels from traveling.

Together with Presidents from Cherry Grove and Water Island, and other elected officials, boaters, and environmental activists, I spoke at the press conference to call on the Town of Islip, the Army Corp of Engineers, and all other government regulatory agencies to start the long-overdue dredging now!

As Don Corkerey, a Commissioner and Safety Officer in the Sayville Fire Department aptly and succinctly summarized the vital importance of dredging, “We on the mainland can now only respond to fire emergencies on Fire Island during high tide.”

To lend your support to this effort, please sign this petition now.

Fire Department Community BBQ

Just a reminder that this Saturday, July 31^st between noon and 2:30PM, the Pines Fire Department will be hosting its annual community BBQ. All are welcome - there are over 1,500 hamburgers and hot dogs ready to be grilled, and there are many raffle prizes including a Smart TV, Amazon gift cards, gift certificates to restaurants and a $250 grand prize drawing. The weather forecast looks great so please come on down and meet your dedicated firemen and women and thank them for all they do year-round to keep our community safe and protected. PS - don't forgot Bingo on Thursday nights at 7PM!

Fire Island AIDS Memorial: Site Update

The goal of the AIDS Memorial Task Force is creating a physical memorial for reflection and remembrance of the loss our community experienced because of the AIDS epidemic. Over the last 6 months we have considered dozens of sites and it became clear that the ideal location for this space is one on the ocean. Through the course of community engagement, it became clear that any site within direct proximity of a home would be met with strong opposition. Our goal is to galvanize our community around this memorial not to create division.

We are pleased to announce a site that offers the beach view, serenity and historical significance we have been seeking and is not in direct proximity of a home. The Task Force has selected a site at the west end of the Pines (west of Sandy) not far from the Carrington cottage at the top of the public access walk. FIPPOA is working with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to introduce the necessary legislation authorizing the use of the site for a memorial. We are also coordinating review by FINS and the National Park Service.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the Pines

Speaking of Senator Gillibrand, she will be in the Pines this Saturday not only to view the selected site for the AIDS Memorial but also to headline an event to promote her Off the Sidelines PAC and its efforts to elect more women to public office.

Kirsten Gillibrand started Off the Sidelines in 2011 to help organize and mobilize women to participate in politics, set the local and national policy agenda, and hold elected leaders accountable. Hear from Kirsten directly about her efforts in Washington, D.C. to push the agenda for us as she continues to champion progressive policies for women, the LGBTQ community, and all New Yorkers.

The reception will take place in on Saturday, July 31st @ 2pm (address available upon RSVP). You can RSVP here or here.

A special thanks to Joe Conforti and Doug Jakubowski and our wonderful host committee, which includes the FIPPOA PAC. I hope to see you there!

Whyte Hall Usage

There are 31 days in August, and programming will occur on 29 of them. Some of the upcoming events include FIPAP's 18th Biennial Art Show on August 7th and Unplugged Opera on August 14th, as well as BOFFO's Thursday night film series. Whyte Hall is used by many of our beloved Pines organizations for which you can find more information in our Pines Community Bulletin Board distributed every Thursday by email and updated regularly on the FIPPOA website.

William "Bill" Haberman, Jr.

William "Bill" Haberman Jr. recently passed away peacefully days before his 98th birthday in LIJ Forest Hills hospital. Bill came to this country as a teenager from Buttenheim, Germany, served in the US Army where he was awarded several medals of honor and a Purple Heart. Bill started coming to the Pines in the 1950s, and soon thereafter joined the Pines Fire Department where he served 53 years as an active and life-time member. Bill also served 30 years as the department’s Treasurer and 20 years as a Fire Commissioner. Bill had a successful design career after graduating from the Pratt Institute with a degree in Architecture and Interior Design with clients from Wall Street and the medical and real estate development fields. Bill loved the Pines and never missed a weekend unless traveling to see friends who left the Pines. He is survived by his loving partner of 23 years, B. Andrew Jung. For those wanting to know more about Bill’s life you can view this information here.

Hope to see you in the community this weekend,

Henry

Henry Robin, President

Allan Baum, Vice President

Tami Hausman, Secretary

Eric Sawyer, Treasurer

Gary Clinton, Greg Henniger, Chris Lovito,

Chris Mai, Jay Pagano, Rodman (Tad) Paul, Leland Rechis,

Russell Saray, Ed Schulhafer, Matt Tague and Jim Vandernoth