Good news for lighthouse fans:

Preliminary work on the Cedar Island lighthouse should begin within about a month. At a meeting with the Suffolk County Parks Department last week, the Parks Commissioner told me that the work to clean out the toxic material and seal up the lighthouse from the elements, wildlife, and vandals (that last one is the toughest) will begin shortly.

Once that part is done, the technical assessment can be scheduled and accomplished. That will give us a much better understanding of what needs to be done, what the priorities should be, and what it will cost. That will allow us to develop honest, responsible fundraising plans and keep the ball rolling.

Hopefully, by Suffolk County Lighthouse Day (March 22), an educational kiosk will be set up at the park (with the lighthouse visible in the background) that will help spread the word to the many campers and visitors that use the park.

The Suffolk County Parks Department continues to honor its committment to the Cedar Island lighthouse, and that's great news for all of us. It's going to be a long, expensive project, but when it's done, we're going to have one heck of a party.

Bob Muller

Got some great news from the Suffolk County Parks Department yesterday!

The preliminary work on the lighthouse has begun! The bird manure has been removed and the scaffolding is up in the interior of the lighthouse. The County will contact the preservation architect to arrange for him to go to the lighthouse so that he can prepare a restoration plan and budget.

Also, we expect the County to give the go ahead on the rebuliding of the oil house. We have spoken with a noted restoration company, and they are excited about the project. We hope that this can begin in the Fall. We will need to do some fundraising for this aspect of the project, so I'm sure you will be hearing more about it in the coming weeks.

We are also exploring the possibility of running regular tours out to the lighthouse. Once we get the okay from the County, we will begin setting up these tours based on the availabliity of volunteers to conduct them.

All in all, GREAT news for Cedar Island!

Excellent!
Bob

Diane

Could you email me the name of the firm who will be doing the restoration. We will be looking shortly for someone to undertake the interior renovation at East Point now that the plan has been developed by our architect.

Hank

Hi Hank:

I emailed you the information this morning.

Word from the County is that we will know about the oil house project "very soon."

The August 2 sunset and lantern light walk has been approved, so start planning to come out to East Hampton!

Park's department put the photo of the LI Chapter's walk to Cedar Island lighthouse on the cover of this year's annual report. This photo was from the kickoff 'Save Cedar Island' campaign last March. I like their committment!
Bob

And a happy update:

I spoke with the Suffolk County Parks Commissioner, Judy Gordon, today. Here's the latest:

1. She gave the okay to raise funds for the oil house restoration, as it is expected to happen in September. This will be a $20,000 project. All we need to do is finalize the roof and door materials (I spoke with the contractor about this today). We both want to be as certain as possible that the final product is historically correct.

2. The County is making arrangements for the architectural assessment of the lighthouse itself. It should happen in July. The architect is as concerned about, and sensitive to, the endangered species (piping plover) issue as the County and the Long Island Chapter of the US Lighthouse Society.

The above reflects the right way to go about these things, with the involved governmental agency, nonprofit, architect and contractor all being in agreement, philosophically and technically.

And let's not forget the support of the community, both real world and online. It may sound like a cliche, but it makes a big difference.

What was it that that guy on The A-Team used to say... I love it when a plan comes together.

Thanks for the update Bob. It appears things are moving in the right direction.