LONG ISLAND 4X4 FOR BEACH ACCESS
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(from LIBBA Newsleter) |
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Abbate Y Carrozz NO Fields NO John Y Meng NO Pretlow Y Sweeney NO Alfano NO Casale NO Finch NO Karben Y Miller NO Quinn NO Tedisco NO Arroyo ER Christe Y Fitzpat NO Kirwan NO Millman Y Rabbitt NO Thiele NO Auberti Y Clark NO Galef Y Kolb NO Mirones NO Raia NO Titus Y Aubry NO Cohen NO Gantt Y Koon NO Morelle Y Ramos Y Tokasz Y Bacalle NO Colton Y Gianari NO Lafayet Y Mosiell NO Reilich NO Tonko Y Barclay NO Conte NO Glick Y Latimer Y Nesbitt NO Reilly NO Towns AB Barra NO Cook Y Gordon Y Lavelle Y Nolan Y Rive J Y Townsen NO Barraga NO Crouch NO Gottfri Y Lavine NO Norman Y Rive N Y Walker NO Benedet Y Cusick Y Grannis Y Lentol Y Oaks NO Rive PM Y Weinste Y Benjami Y Cymbrow Y Green Y Lifton Y O`Conne NO Robinso Y Weisenb NO Bing Y DelMont Y Greene Y Lopez NO O`Donne Y Saladin NO Weprin Y Boyland Y Destito Y Gunther Y Lupardo Y O`Mara NO Sanders Y Wirth NO Bradley Y Diaz LM Y Hayes NO Magee Y Ortiz Y Sayward NO Wright Y Brennan NO Diaz R Y Heastie Y Magnare Y Ortloff NO Scarbor Y Zebrows Y Brodsky Y DiNapol Y Hevesi Y Manning NO Parment Y Schimmi NO Mr Spkr Y Brown NO Dinowit Y Hikind NO Markey NO Paulin Y Schroed NO Burling NO Eddingt Y Hooker ER Mayerso ER Peoples Y Scozzaf NO Butler NO Englebr Y Hooper Y McDonal NO Peralta Y Seddio NO Cahill Y Errigo NO Hoyt NO McDonou NO Perry Y Seminer Y Calhoun NO Espaill Y Ignizio NO McEneny NO Pheffer NO Stephen NO Canestr Y Farrell Y Jacobs Y McLaugh NO Powell NO Stringe Y
4X4 ACCESS
(from LIBBA Newsleter)
I would like to thank all the members, non-members, and all the organizations that help stop the 4x4 access bill. When we first heard about this bill calls were made to Assemblyman Brodsky’s office. Finally after a few weeks and repeated calls from us and RFA Mr. Brodsky said he would talk to us on a conference call. When the call was over and Mr. Brodsky hung up the phone and the other parties stayed on to reflect on what we heard. Without going into detail you can image the language we had after being told repeatedly “this bill will have no effect on you”. We wrote a letter to the Assemblyman to try to explain what 4 wheel driving is on Long Island and what kind of effect this would have on not just the beach users but the economy as well. (A copy of this letter can be found on our web page in the president’s page.) Also a copy of the letter was sent to Newsday when they wrote the article. So much for the newspaper reading and writing what is already written. Knowing that the phone conservation and letter sent to the Assemblyman would mean nothing to him and that there was some other party interested in closing all the beaches down to 4x4 access I reached out to other organization like UMS, and MSA to join in and help. At the same time I sent calls out to friends who have dealt with politics and asked for their help NYFTTA and NYMTA. One of the groups The New York Marine Trade Association said they have a lobbyist in Albany and would look into this. Their lobbyist went to work looked into it and kept us well informed as to what was going on. When needed the lobbyist would step in and talk to the right people and get our point across.
In June we learned there was a co sponsor on the Senate side again calls were made and when I talked to our friends they told me they already knew about it and were working on it. Through out all this time we kept in close contact with Senator Owen Johnson and Assemblyman Bob Sweeny. Whenever something wound come up someone from their office would call to keep us up to date and let us know what else we should be doing. During this time we asked everyone to write or call your local politician and just explain what the loss would be not only to you but the economic effect on Long Island and the revenue generated by sales and taxes. The LIBBA board of Directors along with the top people in all the organizations on Long Island spent hours every day writing letters, sending e mails, and making phone calls to Assemblyman, Senators and local officials to keep track on their feelings on this bill. As the front page says we dodged the bullet. For now yes we did but this will come back and next time they will be more prepared. I am in the process of sending letters to all the fishing clubs, and camping clubs on Long Island, we need to get together and fight this as one unified group, and it is the only way we can win. If you be long to any of the fishing clubs or camping clubs please bring this up at a meeting I would like to set a date late September, more then enough time to work up a plan and will give our politicians a chance to rest.
While on the subject of our politicians the vote on June 21st, 2005 in the Assembly vote was 77 to close beach access and 67 to keep it open. We all did a good job on the Island but we lost to the Assembly upstate. If you know anyone who lives up state tell them to contact their Assemblyman. It may not be entirely their fault for passing this bill. Just about every Assemblyman I talked to have no idea what was going on, this bill was a big push at the end and Mr. Brodsky just kept saying this is to help stop coastal erosion and protect the natural habitat. No matter what you may think of your Assemblyman or Senator just about all are level headed common people doing their job. In this case they thought they were doing the right thing by trying to stop beach erosion. Every time I had a chance to get through to a politician or one of their aids and explain there has never been a study on 4x4 causing beach erosion, or the amount of money collected on permit fees, or just the simple fact that so many local business will lose revenue and New York State will lose quit a large sum of tax revenue. My next questions would be where will the State turn to make up this short fall in taxes? Would NY raise the sales tax or maybe raise our property taxes? Can the average family on Long Island handle any more taxes? After asking this they would get interested and ask questions about beach driving. One Assemblyman asked just how many miles of beach do we drive on? After telling him between the State, and Suffolk County Beaches there is only about 20 miles he asked then how can the 4 wheel drive user cause damage too 3 times as much beach as you drive on. After hanging up the phone I knew he would vote no. The politicians want to be fair they just need to be shown both sides.
If you picked up any local paper or The Fisherman Magazine you will see the same question asked over and over. Why is a politician from Westchester County so obsess with closing down driving on the beach? Well there has also been mention that someone or some group from Southampton is donating money to Mr. Brodsky’s campaign and they do not want 4 wheel drives vehicles on the beach. If this is true and this is the reason behind closing access down and no matter what the Assemblyman says then our access will be closed and maybe we should start contacting voters upstate and let them know that their public officials do not care how our tax dollars are spent. I have also been told Mr. Brodsky is thinking about running for Attorney General of New York State. I don’t know about you but if this is true I would have second thoughts about voting for him. In the past three months my business has suffered and my phone bill looks like a long distance phone call, but if our access was closed this is just a small amount compared to what my and many other small business like mine would lose over the years.
More then ever we the people of New York need to inform our politicians how we feel they need our input. The only ones they ever hear from are the people who want to keep us off the beaches, or close down our fishing areas. In a polite way let them know, show them we are not “dune buggies destroying everything in sight” we are honest law abiding citizens who respect our natural resource and do more then most environmental groups to protect the coastal beaches on Long Island.
Chuck Hollins
President LIBBA
Keepers of the Beach
Letter to Assemblywoman Patricia A. Eddington
38 Oak St. Suite 5
Patchogue, NY 11772
Mrs. Eddington,
As the president of Long Island Beach Buggy Association and a long time resident of Patchogue I am shocked at your statement during the voting process for bill #5435 four wheel drive access. I would have to say at the time you and your family used to access Smith Point County park was around the same time the ‘monster trucks’ became popular with the teenagers. Yes, there were those who did speed along the beach but that was because of lack of enforcement. I have been driving on Smith Point Beach for more then thirty years and in all this time the number of “cars” that I have seen try to drive on the beach would be stuck in about thirty feet. The cost of the towing fee to retrieve them would guarantee they would not try this again. When you first enter the beach there is a sign posted explaining the rules and regulations, on this sign if you noticed the speed limit is 10 MPH that is 10 MPH slower then when you drive past a school zone. During that time organizations like Long Island Beach Buggy Association would meet with Suffolk County Officials to correct this problem. The result was better enforcement, radar detectors, and violators would lose their permit and right to access county beaches.
If you had taken the time to call or check out what many of our members and other organizations like ours do to help protect and preserve our natural resources then maybe you have voted differently. Just to give you a few examples, we do clean up projects each year. This helps to keep our beaches clean for anyone wants to use them. We do grass planting projects to help protect our dunes. Just this year when the beach by Smith Point was eroded badly after two storms during the winter, Suffolk County asked for our help in planting grass to stabilize the dunes. That one day alone we had over 100 volunteers and planted grass on over 2000 feet of dune. All of the projects and programs that we do we invite schools, cub scouts, brownies, girl scouts, and boy scouts to help to learn about the environment and ecology. More then ten years ago we produced an educational video with Suffolk County showing people the right way to use our beaches and how to preserve them for future generations. Every year in the spring and fall we do a beach driving class to show people what to do and what equipment they need. The members of these organizations have spent more free time and money to help protect and preserve our natural resources then most of the environmental groups who just sit back and complain.
As a public servant it is your duty to protect and to make the quality of life for the people in New York better. This you do by listening to the public and introducing a bill in Albany. As the president of LIBBA it also my duty to make the quality of life and enjoyment of using our beaches better for our members and the four wheel drive community. It is my job to keep them well informed as to what is going on. I feel many of the constituents in your district especially the elderly and handicapped who bring their children, grand children or great grand children to the beach for a day of relaxation and fun will wonder why someone who lives on Long Island would want to close down public access to all. What would you tell the people of Patchogue, who own homes on Fire Island and rely on four wheel drive transportation to bring goods back and forth.
The Long Island Beach Buggy Association was established in 1958 when a group of fisherman seen access to local beaches being lost for one reason or another. Since that time we have archived many accomplishments including beach clean ups, grass and tree plantings to help stabilize our dune system, many rescue missions including helping out during the loss of flight 800. Many of these rescue missions have saved lives of boaters who would have been lost if it were not for the assistance of our members.We were even deputize by the Suffolk County Sheriff Department years ago.We have worked closely with New York State Parks, Suffolk County Parks and US Fish and Wildlife to help in habitat projects and to protect the piping plover. We have formed a scholarship program that every year awards a minimum of $1,000.00 to assist some one in the marine biology field. In December we are involved in a toy and food drive to assist the poor on Long Island. Since 9/11 the Coast Guard has asked for our assistance in home land security. I could go on forever with this list but this is all done by a not for profit organization who’s members volunteer their service.The loss of all this including the tax revues and the business on Long Island that rely on summertime beach access would be devastating to all.
I sincerely hope in the future you will decide to research and learn about the impact a bill will have to the public in NY State before you decide to vote.
Sincerely,
Charles J. Hollins
President LIBBA
Recently I was given a copy of the transcript from the 4x4 access bill in the Assembly. After reading through 35 pages I was happy to see that so many of the Assemblyman on Long Island fought hard to keep this bill from going through. As I have stated in past letters we need to work on the up state vote. In the next few days I will be adding comments from both the people who voted against this bill and those who voted for this bill.
I will state now that there are a few Assemblyman who went all the way to get this bill voted down. These people should be call and thanked for all the hard work they did for us. Here is a list of the one who did all they could. Mr. Fred Thiele, Mr. Bob Sweeney, Mr. Joseph Saladino, Mrs. Ginny Fields, there are others who voiced an opinion but, these four people really put their heart into stopping this bill. My deepest appreciation goes out to this group and I will do all I can to make sure they are reelected.
On a sad note there are a few from Long Island who voted to close our beaches. They will receive letters asking why and for what reason would you take away such a recreational sport? The first letter is going to the Assemblywomen in my district. Patricia A. Eddington. This women claims to be a four wheel beach user or at least use to be one. Her comments state that it was unsafe to go to Smith Point because “all the big trucks and cars would speed up and down the beach’ making it very unsafe.
Please read the attached letter.
Thanks
Chuck Hollins
President LIBBA
“Keepers Of The Beach”
This will affect all user groups we must ban together and stop this
Please pass the word we all have to fight to stop this.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 29, 2005
CONTACT:
Carl Schneebeck, Bluewater Network, 415-544-0790, ext. 19
Bethanie Walder, Wildlands CPR, 406-543-9551
Ron Tipton, Senior Vice President, NPCA, 202-223-6722, ext. 266
Robert Rosenbaum, Arnold & Porter LLP, 202-942-5862
Conservation Groups File Lawsuit to Protect National Parks From Harmful Off-Road
Vehicle Use
Survey of Parks Reveals Extensive Damage from Off-Road Vehicles, Lack of Funding
for Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth;
the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA); and Wildlands CPR today
filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and the Department of Interior
in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.,
alleging that those agencies have failed in numerous ways to protect the
National Park System against the extensive damage caused by all-terrain vehicles
and other off-road vehicles in America's national parks.
The plaintiffs met with the Park Service in July 2004 and raised concerns about
off-road vehicle damage in the national parks. The agency responded by
conducting an internal survey of all national park sites. The 256 responses
available to the plaintiffs demonstrate that off-road
vehicles are causing widespread damage in America's national parks.
"Despite evidence of damage, the leadership of the National Park Service is
simply proposing more studies of the problems caused by off-road vehicles in
some parts of the National Park System and has refused to take any action
elsewhere," said Carl Schneebeck, public lands campaign director for Bluewater
Network and a former Park Service ranger.
Park managers reported that off-road vehicle use is harming archaeological sites
at the Grand Canyon; tearing up hiking/horseback trails at Olympic National
Park; crushing animal burrows in Arches and Canyonlands national parks; and
facilitating fossil poaching at Badlands
National Park, as well as affecting the experiences of other visitors. Park
managers at the Appalachian Trail reported that damage from off-road vehicles is
the trail's "most pernicious" problem.
"Because of the damage off-road vehicles can cause to the natural wonders of the
parks, the law expressly requires the agency to regulate the use of off-road
vehicles," said Robert Rosenbaum of Washington, D.C., law firm Arnold & Porter
LLP, counsel for the plaintiffs.
In the Park Service's survey, many park managers reported having insufficient
staff to monitor the impact of off-road vehicles on the parks and enforce park
regulations.
"Due to lack of funding, many parks are struggling to enforce the rules on the
books to protect the treasures in our parks and the safety and experiences of
visitors," said NPCA President Tom Kiernan. "In the meantime, the parks
protecting our national heritage are being spoiled."
Exacerbating this problem, the Department of Interior has proposed a draft
revision of the parks' management policies. The draft weakens protections for
parks and could lead to increased use of off-road vehicles. The public can
comment on the proposed changes to the Park Service's management policies over
the next few months.
"National parks were created 100 years ago as preserves for our national
heritage-not as playgrounds for off-road vehicles," said Wildlands CPR Executive
Director Bethanie Walder. "The existing policies to protect our parks must be
upheld and enforced."