When the National Parks subcommittee met on May 15, 2024, to hold a legislation hearing, they had numerous things to discuss. Whether or not to approve the Bicameral Fire Island Aids Memorial Act, was one of them. The office of New York State Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, directly confirmed to the Fire Island News in the first week of June that the committee approved the act.
The bill was introduced to the House and Senate on December 14, 2023, with bipartisan support. Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and New York Congress Representative Andrew Garbarino of the Republican Party, teamed up for this bill. The normally opposing politicians put their different views aside to put in motion a memorial for the mass amount of Fire Islanders who suffered from the AIDS epidemic.
Members of Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove communities launched a push for the memorial back in 2020.
“It became increasingly clear that legislation would be needed to achieve the communities’ vision, which is why the senator decided to draft the act,” said a representative from the Senator’s press team.
The HIV/AIDS Epidemic began in 1981 and quickly began to spread across the United States. Fast forward to the present day and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has claimed the lives of an estimated 35 million people. In New York State alone it’s said that more than 130,000 people with aids have passed away. The Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove Communities were especially affected.
“The epidemic devastated these communities leaving behind ghost towns of friends and lost lovers,” said Jay Pagano of the Pines Foundation.
It’s estimated that around 10,000 Long Islanders have been diagnosed with AIDS since the epidemic began. The memorial will honor Fire Island residents who have passed away from the disease. It will keep their memory alive while also educating future generations on the impact the epidemic had on Fire Island, according to Gillibrand’s press release.
The memorial would be located, “along the walkway between the Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove and adjacent to the Carrington house,” according to a direct statement from the National Park Service (NPS). “Fire Island National Seashore is a low-lying coastal site with most of its resources located on a dynamic barrier island that is currently facing serious issues related to erosion and extreme weather events which will likely increase in the coming decades due to climate change. These vulnerabilities make it particularly important that the NPS have a role in the site selection for a permanent monument on federal lands within the park.”
Before construction begins, the director of the NPS will need to sign off on its location.
Senator Gillibrand’s team is currently working on a slight edit to the proposed bill. Section 4, Part B, paragraph 2, of the S.3534 bill states, “Non-Federal Funds: The Director may accept and expend contributions of non-Federal funds and resources.”
Federal funds are not to be used to build and maintain the memorial. The NPS has recommended that they remove the part of the bill allowing for the use of donations. “Establishing and maintaining the memorial should be the role of the foundation,” NPS stated. So, the Fire Island Pines Foundation will be responsible.
“Our team is working hard to quickly amend these changes,” explained Gilibrand’s press secretary. Now all that is left is to get congressional approval, then, the process of securing an exact location and construction of the memorial can begin.
