Protectors of Pine Oak Woods • Message from the President

Protectors is Serious About our Members’ Concerns

by Hillel Lofaso

Protectors has much to report on since our Spring Bulletin was published. We hosted an informative public meeting on the New York State Draft Open Space Plan, presented by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The plan lays the groundwork for establishing criteria for the purchase and preservation of open space (undeveloped) acres for the benefits they provide: natural habitat, recreation, and scenic beauty. No one knows better than your average Staten Islander about the need to build and the need to set aside, and how the two needs compete. Protectors is never categorically anti-development; we are smart-development advocates, insisting instead that we preserve those areas in which nature is well-established or else is struggling to make a last stand against the encroaching patchwork of paved roads, parking lots and sprawling shopping centers and office complexes. And those who are tasked with finding a solution, our elected officials, can and must hear from us and you as we promote our carefully reasoned and supported arguments for preservation.

Take Goodhue Woods for instance. Protectors has been working on moving to completion the City purchase of this stretch of woods, streams and grassy playing fields. Last year Protectors led a series of public walks to the site, led by Cliff Hagen, and we produced a promotional booklet touting the natural value of the area. Our legislative committee met with then Councilman Michael McMahon who became an early supporter of its preservation. He was joined by Borough President James Molinaro and others, who contributed sizeable amounts towards the hefty purchase price. Their funding allocation showed that the concept of a North Shore Greenbelt has broad support. We are happy to report that the parcel is well on its way to become parkland. We are grateful to Congressman McMahon, to Borough President Molinaro, and the other councilmen for their foresight and continued support for preservation here and elsewhere on Staten Island for the benefit of its residents.

The demapping of the Willowbrook and Richmond Parkways has also been the subject of much of our attention this past month. First Vice President Chuck Perry organized a group made up of Protectors board members and supporting groups (NYC Audubon) for a lobbying trip to Albany. He met with all of Staten Island’s elected officials, pressing them to support the bill for demapping. Followup trips were made nearly every week to Albany because the bill was moving through the Assembly.

Dick Buegler is moving to....where!?

President Emeritus Dick Buegler and his wife Toni have finalized their plans to move from their longtime home in Meier’s Corners to a community in Pennsylvania in the beautiful Brandywine valley. Dick’s Mann Avenue home had been the cradle of Protectors, and countless planning meetings and board meetings were held there. Dick and Toni’s hospitality and willingness to open their home for our evening meetings has no parallel; without a home base, Protectors could not have become the strong organization it is today, nearly four decades after its founding.

There is not enough space in this bulletin to do justice to Dick’s lasting legacy. Protectors—and Staten Island—simply won’t be the same without his presence in the field and in the board meeting. Rather than give a tribute to Dick in this space, which would be a poor tribute indeed, the board has decided that we would plan a special gala dinner and commemorative journal to mark Dick’s noteworthy contributions to Protectors and Staten Island through his tireless pursuit of environmental education, advocacy and park creation. Please watch for more information, and we know that you will want to take part in this celebration.

—Hillel Lofaso