EDGE Fire Island

State Assemblywoman Ginny Fields [D-Oakdale], Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan and Fire Island National Seashore [FINS] Superintendent Chris Soller were among those who attended the Fire Island Association’s [FIA] annual summer meeting at Whyte Hall in the Fire Island Pines on July 18.

Ocean Beach officials were largely absent from the FIA meeting because it coincided with the Ocean Beach Association’s annual summer gathering, but concerns over whether enough police officers patrol the beach dominated both agendas.

Jerry Stoddard, president of the FIA, said the Suffolk County Marine Bureau responded to 341 calls for medical assistance from the beach last year. These included 188 off-island evacuations by boat and another 100 by vehicle. Stoddard further noted the number of seasonal officers on Fire island this summer is essentially the same as last year. And he expressed confidence in how he feels Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has responded to local concerns over law enforcement coverage.

"He’s very concerned about this," Stoddard said.

Not everyone agreed.

"We want people to understanding staffing levels are at a bare minimum," SCMB officer Pete Conte, who is a member of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (SCPBA), told the News after the meeting.

Members of the SCPBA remain among Levy’s most outspoken critics on his decision to have Suffolk County sheriffs patrol the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway as opposed to SCPD officers and on a host of other issues. Steve Placilla of the Ocean Bay Park Fire Department was among the other FIA meeting attendees who raised similar concerns over whether there are enough officers to patrol the beach-and he singled out OBP and Seaview in particular.

He complained about drunken day trippers from Ocean Bay Park and nearby Ocean Beach who return to the mainland and attempt to drive home. Nolan appeared to support a proposal to install DUI checkpoints at the Fire Island Ferry terminal in Bay Shore. And Fields endorsed a similar plan to implement them at the Sayville.

"You need to be the squeaky wheel if you think you need to get more police," Nolan said.

Fields further stressed she feels officers on the beach should have access to gas for their vehicles and other necessary items she contends will increase response time.

"I don’t want to be in Davis Park having a heart attack while a car is off the beach gassing up," she said. "Its public safety and we need to work with that."

In other news, the state has signed off on the long-delayed Fire Island to Montauk Reformulation Project. Joe Vietri of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they are still waiting comments from the Department of the Interior, which are due before Aug. 15.

"The end is here," the Kismet resident said. "Enough is truly enough from our perspective."

Vietri stressed, however, climate change and rising sea levels in particular continue to pose a serious threat to Fire Island.

"We can’t allow this beach to get to a point where it offers zero percent protection to the mainland," he said.

Soller stressed he feels Fire Islanders themselves have a crucial role to play. He singled out one Pines homeowner who removed the dune in front of his oceanfront home because he could no longer see the beach and another who removed sand to build a pool for what he described as irresponsible land stewardship. Soller conceded, however, barrier islands are, by their very nature, not permanent.

"As much sand as we pump out there, it’s not going to last forever," he said. "We’re not in an easy position."