Rob: You know, Cornelia Dean, a New York Times science writer, came in to one of our meetings to speak. She had slides of the battery at Charleston and the beaches, or rather the breakwaters in Florida, New Jersey and Miami. And she talked about how sand replenishment projects just don't work. Then, by contrast, she showed photos of Massachusetts beaches. Which are all open, and public and state owned. And they're all intact. There's no building on the beaches there and that's why they're so pristine.

CD: I went out to Cape Cod awhile back and was amazed at how nice the beaches were.

Rob: The islands, Edgartown, Nantucket. You can't build on those beaches, and they're nice, wide and healthy. I think the task is to realize that getting the homes off the beachfront is long term. It will take a commitment of time.

It comes down to a question of what kind of world do you want ahead? The bottom line, is that a lot of folks have a different approach to viewing the world and the beach. It doesn't mean they're wrong. It just means, don't expect to convert people to the way that we see things. It's outside of what they understand and that is our biggest challenge.

Hurricane Day on Long Island.
Photo Courtesy: Surfrider/Long Island

As surfers, we have to get the wealthy beachfront property owners to help too. We can't go around alienating everybody. This is why I said that this thing is so complex. Because, if you get into a fight, they've got deeper pockets than we do. What we're trying to do here, and I think what Surfrider tries to do globally, is to try and work on a collaborative solution. That is very challenging, but it can be done.

CD: Are there any New York projects that are out there that you can see a benefit to?

Rob: There are certain situations where the Army Corps presented opportunities for actually taking some of the beach hardening out. That may influence the surf break, but beach hardening, as a principle is probably something that's just not effective. There's an example of a proposal like that up near Montauk right now.

There are sometimes projects here that do make sense. It's not like surfers should become the archenemies of the Corps of Engineers. It's more complex than that. Surfers now, more than ever , need to teach themselves engineering and dig into this stuff and understand what the risks to the beach from different projects.

CD: What about other areas are Surfrider New York concerned with?

Rob: We're keeping an eye on Montauk certainly. Also, Southampton and the proposed beach hardening there. Long Beach certainly. And then there's Fire Island. Fire Island has had a beach renourishment, but it's sinking basically. Homes there -- the waves are splashing right up to the pilings. People simply haven't allowed for the fact that these islands move. These beaches move. They are dynamic. And you know, it's really recognizable for people who live at the beach. You go there in the winter and it's one beach, you go there in the summer and its' another beach. Every surfer knows that. The challenge we have in New York is for people who go to the beach and see it through a 30-60-90-120 day window to understand that it's a 365 day universe.

And it's not my property today. It's either all of our beaches, or it's not.

External Links:

Surfrider Foundation's Long Island Chapter

Surfrider Foundation's New York Chapter

The Army Corps' Sand Replenishment Project for Long Beach

Surfrider's Long Beach San Replenishment Petition