OCEAN BEACH: On Island TimeBy Samantha Sigelakis-MinskiWelcome back to Ocean Beach, friends! I am here to introduce you to your new source of all things related to the OB community for the 2016 summer season. Here is a place to kick back your feet, catch some rays, and read all about it on your time – on island time. We all need a reminder to slow down sometimes (not that we have much of a choice, with OB traffic!) and “island time” is a pretty good excuse to do just that.To begin with the obligatory VOB goings-on, there is a new permit application needed for anyone using a propane tank 100-gallons or over. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you check your tanks for their size and get your permit application in to Town Hall. New garbage restrictions are in place; all garbage must be in a can with a lid starting this summer. Please follow this directive so that our town stays beautiful! In a note of celebration, bike riding has officially been extended for summer weekend hours, with restrictions starting on Friday at 7:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. Always remember to bring a flashlight for your bike in the evening hours. Lastly, we would like to welcome back into the fold Theodore Minski, our new/old Building Inspector. Everyone in Ocean Beach missed you.Also good news, Fire Island Ferries has just released its new Freight Portal, where you can pay online for your freight with a credit card. Please check out their website https://fireislandfreight.azurewebsites.net/ for more information and to set up an account.The Fire Island Inlet Project has been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the oceanfront will soon be receiving more than one million cubic yards of sand for dunes and berms. The contract will be awarded in June of this year and construction will begin in September due to safety and tourism concerns. The project will be finished by March 2017, just in time for the 2017 season to kick off. In the meantime, be safe when going to the beach during high tide. As for the bayfront, the bulkhead is well underway for the Ocean Beach Marina and will be completed by the time you are ready to put your boat into your newly renovated slip.Despite concerns of Fire Island residents, the National Park Service has approved the new Fire Island National Seashore white-deer management plan, which will include a combination of lethal and non-lethal means of lowering and monitoring deer populations to restore natural flora and fauna of the island. This will not affect Ocean Beach directly, since the plan will be implemented in National Park land only, however it is of note given the public support for deer conservation. To read more about the plan, please see the public announcement: https://fireislandassociation.org/images/160503finsdeerplan.pdfWhile some of us were gone, the Ocean Beach Fire Department put on a very successful St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner on March 12, the first in the years following Hurricane Sandy. Here’s to wishing for many more in the future. The winter was much milder than the last, but still rough. Thank you to the maintenance crew for making winter so much easier for everyone, every year. Also a big “thank you” to CJ’s and Mermaid Market for remaining open in the lonely months to make this winter a little less solitary.Now that spring has sprung after the mild, but still annoying winter, here are the events you must go to in order to start your season off right:
- On Saturday, May 28, the Ocean Beach Fire Department is hosting its annual blood drive, held at the firehouse on the corner of Midway and Bayberry. Bring your ID and your blood, and you will be fed and bled in the name of a good cause.
- Memorial Day, May 30 is the parade! Come support our veterans with the OBFD at 11:00 a.m., rain or shine, as they march around town square with our firefighters. All veterans are welcome; if you’d like to join in the parade, please muster at the Ocean Beach Fire House at 10:30 a.m.
- June 11, another Saturday, is the Community Fund’s flea market held at the Ocean Beach ballfield by the school. Bring your wallets and treasures to support Ocean Beach’s beloved organization.
Now for the happy announcements from the past year: Congratulations to Sean Kletzin and Lindsay Patrick Kletzin (The Salty Stitch, Bambootique, Fire Island Outfitters) on the birth of their beautiful little girl, Harper Lily. It is always nice to welcome a new member to the Fire Island family. Let us hope Hollywood doesn’t get too jealous! For more happy baby news, congratulations to Glen and Kerri Roesch on the birth of their baby girl Zoe. Sending lots of love to your family down south. More warm wishes to John Randazzo (of Castaway, the Landing, and Scoops) and Ashley Leggio (Albatross). The pair were married on April 16 at Chateau Briand.
However, such is the circle of life that we must also announce the passing of beloved little David Andrew Jones III, who left us on just shy of his 12th birthday. I will personally miss you, watching you fish off the dock with your father on nice days. We also say goodbye to community member and musician Clifford Bailes. You are both very missed.
Email Samantha at oceanbeach@fireisland-news.com with your Ocean Beach area news and happenings.
