Volunteers restoring LI's abandoned cemeteries

Today's Long Island Newsday has a story reporting on efforts in the Town of Babylon to conserve and maintain its abandoned cemeteries (click on the blog title link).

From the article:

'Under state law, towns must take over the care of abandoned cemeteries.'
"'There's no doubt that there's all kinds of historic value to our rural cemeteries,' [Lindsey] Henry [Babylon Town board member] said."

While the Town of Babylon is expanding its efforts to conserve and maintain its historic abandoned cemeteries, our Town of Brookhaven is spending thousands of dollars to fight a citizens lawsuit that would require the Town to perform the minimal maintenance required by New York State law.

Welcome to Gobbledygook Twaddle?

Read Article, Long Island Advance, 25 February 2010, page 8

Some have trouble trouble understanding California politics, but now this seems elementary as compared to the Town of Nuttiness. The Town has hired someone to look at and restore the historic cemeteries -- a sensible idea I might add, given the Town's past history -- that the Town's Law Department is spending thousands of dollars to prove they don't own or have to care for. Will someone please explain? (The Town is currently fighting a lawsuit brought by the Fire Place History Club in Brookhaven Hamlet that seeks to compel the Town to maintain historic cemeteries in accordance with long established State law. Next court hearing date is March 9th. )

It's also should be noted that the consultant, Joel Snodgrass, has been only hired to "look at existing historic homes in the northern areas of Brookhaven Town," another example of north shore elitism often found in Town policies.

Ice "Yachts" 1940

Marty Van Lith reports this British Pathé link to ice boats in the Great South Bay, 1940. Title reads: "Pathetone Lightens The "Blackout" With - ICY SCOOTERS! Various shots of people skimming across the ice of a frozen bay in ice yachts - it looks like good fun! One of the boats tips right over, though the two men in it try to prevent it."

Modern photographs by Bobby Sterling, Winter 0f 2007. We call them ice scooters. These photographs were taken off the foot of Mott Lane, Brookhaven Hamlet. Their design has changed little since 1940.