Sandy Hook
 

I live about an hour and a half south of Sandy Hook and am a regular. I was wondering how they faired and thought about taking a ride up to see. I guess it is pretty bad if you can't get on the road to the penninsula off of rt 36. I was a Seaside Heights last weekend near the ferris wheel that has become famous for it's destruction.

Sandy Hook
 

The roadway is washed out, the restrooms are torn up and all of the sewer system is full of beach sand everywere in the park. The beaches can be repaired with earth moving equipment, but without sewer drains working they won't open the park. I live about 30 minutes from the hook!:

Lighthouse Beach
 

Hope it isn't a total wash this summer.

CLOTHING OPTIONAL SUNBATHING NO LONGER LEGAL - FIRE ISLAND
 

Sad day for all Lighthouse Beach fans and food for thought for all Gunnison Beach fans. Could very easily happen to Gunnison too ..

The NPS issued a new Directive yesterday 2/5/2013. ..

February 5, 2013
To Whom it May Concern:
Effective immediately, state nudity laws will be enforced at Fire Island National Seashore.
While state laws apply throughout the Seashore, the park will focus its public education and
enforcement efforts of the existing New York State law at the following federally-owned
areas:
o Lighthouse beach, from the western boundary of the park to the western
boundary of Kismet.
o The Sailors Haven tract, from Point O’ Woods to Cherry Grove.
o One half mile on either side of the Barrett Beach lifeguard stand.
o One mile on either side of the Watch Hill lifeguard stand.
o From the Wilderness Visitor Center to the breach at Old Inlet
Public nudity has been prohibited in the State of New York since 1984 under New York State
Penal Code 245.01. Fire Island National Seashore shares concurrent jurisdiction with the
State of New York, which means that state laws can be enforced on federal lands by federal,
state, and local law enforcement officers. Although the National Park Service (NPS) is
focusing its enforcement on the identified areas, the law still applies park-wide, and may be
enforced throughout the park. NPS policies favor consistent enforcement of state laws on
federal lands, and disfavor the designation of clothing optional areas. Public nudity on Fire
Island has resulted in conflicts of use, despite past park management efforts to accommodate
clothing optional recreation. On Lighthouse beach in particular, the dense visitation invited
by the previously-designated “clothing optional beach” presented not only a visitor use
conflict, but created a public safety hazard due to the lack of adequate facilities for trash and
human waste, in addition to the heavy recreation on a non-lifeguarded beach. Additionally,
Hurricane Sandy leveled the dunes in this area, which increases the visibility of the beach
from other public use areas. The sandy overwash areas left by the storm created added habitat
for sensitive species in the area. Finally, park employees have observed an increase in
criminal activity in the designated clothing-optional areas, but have been unable to
appropriately manage this activity despite significant attempts at education and enforcement.
Violation of this law is a class B federal misdemeanor, and can result in fines of up to $5,000
and up to six months imprisonment.

That Sucks
 

We used to frequent LHB a lot in the summer until about 10 years ago. It was never really crowded there, only on some weekends and July 4th or Memorial day weekend. The lack of facilities has always been an issue as it's quite a hike to Robert Moses Beach next door where you park. There is increased pressure as well from the conservation groups to highly restrict access to areas where "threatened" or "endangered" species are found and there are more than a few in the area. I guess we can now add Nudists to the list. There also have been a drowning or two over the years. Sandy Hook has facilities so my guess is unless there's a public outcry it should be safe there.

The Beach had an aura about it. When you spent the day there it felt like an eight hour vacation.

I had a feeling they could use this as an excuse to shut the beach down. I didn't think they would because of the possible backlash. Lets see what happens now....:(

Before and After Photo - Dune completely gone
 

Attached are two photos basically (within 100 feet). The amount of erosion caused by Hurricane Sandy is evident. The large dune is completely gone.

they're going to use sandy as an excuse to shut it down. the dunes are gone, so the naked bodies won't be hidden from sensitive eyes. this is part of the foundation for changing the policy.

the other reason is that, no matter how much we tried to police it, a persistent group of losers would sneak into the dunes to take a shit or jerk-off. unfortunately, you don't need many of these to raise a case for prohibiting the nudity that has been present on the beach since the 60s.

and don't expect gunnison beach at sandy hook to be open this year either. the damage is going to keep the beach closed for some time. unfortunately, no humans on the beach means that nesting seabirds will have the run of it instead of hiding in the dunes as they usually do to avoid human contact. since this is a protected area, if the birds get the beach, the people will not. this info comes from a friend-of-a-friend that was on a cleanup crew at sandy hook recently. the rangers were discussing this exact scenario.

so those of us that enjoy the lighthouse and gunnison will have to keep our pants on this summer, and maybe forever.

Damn. That's a nasty blow. :(

gunny faves
 

i hope its open