Free Republic

Sen. Chuck Schumer warned that parts of Long Island’s prized beaches and nature reserves have been literally washing away and the Biden Administration has done nothing to replenish the beaches and stem the erosion. Schumer, the Senate Democratic majority leader from New York, blasted the Army Corps of Engineers for their inaction in failing to restore large chunks of Fire Island’s pristine beaches, which were decimated by a slew of winter storms. Fire Island helps shield Long Island from violent storms fueled by the Atlantic Ocean, while its status as a favorite summer getaway for city dwellers provides crucial jobs...

A meteorite impact off Long Island 2,300 years ago may have set off a huge tsunami that flooded the New York City region, a new study says (New York City and Long Island map). It's not known whether any ancient settlements were in the path of the proposed killer waves, but "any significant tsunami today would be devastating and likely to flood places like lower Manhattan," Vanderbilt University geologist Steven Goodbred said. Tsunamis are typically triggered by seismic events. An undersea earthquake, for example, caused the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. But meteorite strikes have also been known to spark...

According the the US Government's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), some type of "event" in the ocean off the New Jersey coast triggered a Tsunami Buoy! The buoy recorded sudden changes in water depth of fifty-five METERS (180 feet) in a matter of seconds.

At the southern end of Madagascar lie four enormous wedge-shaped sediment deposits, called chevrons, that are composed of material from the ocean floor. Each covers twice the area of Manhattan with sediment as deep as the Chrysler Building is high. On close inspection, the chevron deposits contain deep ocean microfossils that are fused with a medley of metals typically formed by cosmic impacts. And all of them point in the same direction — toward the middle of the Indian Ocean where a newly discovered crater, 18 miles in diameter, lies 12,500 feet below the surface. The explanation is obvious to...

A huge wave crashed into the New York City region 2,300 years ago, dumping sediment and shells across Long Island and New Jersey and casting wood debris far up the Hudson River. The scenario, proposed by scientists, is undergoing further examination to verify radiocarbon dates and to rule out other causes of the upheaval. Sedimentary deposits from more than 20 cores in New York and New Jersey indicate that some sort of violent force swept the Northeast coastal region in 300BC. It may have been a large storm, but evidence is increasingly pointing to a rare Atlantic Ocean tsunami. Steven...

The tsunami washed over Fire Island and, to the west, waves perhaps as high as 20 feet spilled into Lower Manhattan. The furious onrush of water left sediment a foot and a half deep on the Jersey Shore, and debris cascaded far up the Hudson River. No, there’s no need to rush to higher ground, commandeer a rowboat in Central Park or empty the closet to grab the rubber boots. This disaster occurred about 2,300 years ago, though how bad it was, or even if it was a tsunami, remains in dispute. But several geologists have collected evidence indicating that...

The gay New York City hoteliers who recently played host to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have their own controversy to deal with: Activists are calling for the boycott of their properties, including a gay hotel and establishments on Fire Island. Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass (pictured with Cruz), two gay real estate moguls who run numerous vacation properties marketed towards the LGBT community, spoke with The New York Times yesterday about the reception they held for the presidential candidate. During that meeting, they mainly discussed foreign policy, while alluding to a possible shift (or private opinion) in Cruz’s thoughts about...

LGBT activists are urging a boycott of two openly gay New York hoteliers who hosted a controversial campaign event for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The “Boycott Fire Island Pines Establishments & Out NYC Hotel” page on Facebook, which had amassed nearly 4,000 likes by Friday, questions the conservative company that OutNYC owners Mati Weiderpass and Ian Reisner chose to keep. The page quotes a critical profile of Cruz written by the Human Rights Campaign. Weiderpass, the co-owner of the Hell’s Kitchen hotel, enraged LGBT activists when he posed for a photo with the Republican presidential hopeful during the Monday affair....

<p>Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank caused a scene when he demanded a $1 senior discount on his ferry fare to Fire Island's popular gay haunt, The Pines, last Friday.</p> <p>Frank was turned down by ticket clerks at the dock in Sayville because he didn't have the required Suffolk County Senior Citizens ID. A witness reports, "Frank made such a drama over the senior rate that I contemplated offering him the dollar to cool down the situation." Frank made news last year when he was spotted looking uncomfortable around a bevy of topless, well-built men at the Pines Annual Ascension Beach Party.</p>

Call this tale "Nudie and the Beast." Former bodybuilder Mark DelCore, of Queens, is suing Fire Island officials for the right to have his dog escort him to the beach while he sunbathes nude - which he claims is the only medicine against a mysterious skin disease he contracted after 9/11. The 1998 Gay Games competitor said doctor's orders make it necessary for him to go au natural at the beach - and on top of that, he needs his spunky rat terrier, Cheekies, by his side because the dog provides "emotional support and comfort." A cloud of dust engulfed...

A STORMY welcome might await Sens. Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) when they arrive at Fire Island Pines for a July 22 fund-raiser. Fashion mogul Perry Wolfman will open up his bay-front mansion so the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee can fill its coffers with gay dollars. Admission runs from $1,000 to $5,000. But both Schu- mer and Boxer oppose same-sex marriage, which has some Pines activists planning to meet their boat with a noisy protest. "If they don't respect our right to marry, they should not come into our community trolling for money," said one.

WASHINGTON Feb 27, 2006 (AP)-- Eleven cities have shown interest in playing host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, twice the number of cities that applied to get the 2004 gathering. The DNC initially sent out letters to more than 30 cities, giving them an overview and finding out their level of interest. The 11 cities that said they were interested: Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and San Antonio. Some of the cities are in critical swing states like Florida and Arizona, while others are in population centers like New...