"Demolition by neglect": Historic 150-year-old Long Island lighthouse could be lost without major restoration
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Long Island lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places could be lost. Preservationists warn that decades of decay could doom the 150-year-old Stepping Stones Lighthouse.
Corrective work was planned, but it's on pause what the cost to taxpayers is assessed, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Thursday.
The Stepping Stones Lighthouse, a mile off Kings Point and visible from the Throgs Neck Bridge, is functional, but crumbling.
"Think of what people went through to build this lighthouse. 1876, lit in 1877, and today they can't even do the most miniscule of work to preserve it," said Pam Setchell, a lighthouse preservationist and president of the Huntington Lighthouse Society.
For Long Islanders who cherish its 20 lighthouses, it's hard to watch this one's demise.
"It's a crime," said Bob Muller, president of the U.S. Lighthouse Society's Long Island chapter. "Certainly when we look back on some of the lighthouses that have been lost, you think 'What were they thinking?'"
"While the debate goes on and we try and figure a way to fix it, nature just keeps eating away," said Bob Lincoln, of the Great Neck Historical Society.
It's a debate over who should pay for its restoration. It was supposed to be a public-private partnership with a price tag over $4 million. Private money was raised, but the public part lagged. The Town of Hempstead agreed to be its steward 14 years ago.
"They locked it up one day and walked off and said that they were not going to be doing anything with it," said Setchell.
"There is a phrase in historic preservation, 'demolition by neglect,' and we're watching that happen now," said Muller.
"We are all in agreement that the lighthouse was neglected by the prior two administrations," said North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena.
DeSena said she paused further work until a current assessment of the cost.
"Nobody knows what the expense would be. So, I can't comment on spending taxpayer money on something we have no idea what it would be. Frankly, it would be writing a blank check," said DeSena.
That assessment was underway Thursday with an encouraging prognosis.
"By and large it's still in remarkably great condition," said Walter Sedovic, a lighthouse architecture expert.
But should it be restored?
"Lighthouses are indicative of the economic and social and political development of a nation," said Muller.
"An opportunity to actually stand where people did over 100 years ago when children were raised and actually went to school by boat," said Lincoln.
Nonprofits say they can raise money if the town shows progress. The Great Neck Historical Society is also seeking federal and state grant money for the restoration.
"We are stalled right now and we've gotta get started again," said Lincoln.
If nothing is done, the lighthouse would still have to be replaced. It's needed for navigation, but with a steel tower and an automated light.
They say a lost lighthouse is lost history.