I would like to thank all the organization leaders who participated in last Saturday’s presentation of the many exciting entertainment, arts and culture offerings in the works for this season. I have heard from many community members that they appreciated learning more about the organizations that program in the Pines and the effort everyone is making to bring back so many annual events after last season’s many cancellations. For those of you who were unable to join us on Zoom, here is a link to the Vimeo video for viewing at your leisure.

At Spotlight on the Pines, Drs. Michael Giordano and Ed Schulhafer echoed the new general CDC guidelines for mask wearing –

Outdoors + Distanced = No Mask Needed

Outdoors + No Distance = Mask Needed

Not Outdoors = Mask Needed

To put this in Fire Island Pines terms, the one place that we can be certain you are going to run into a “No Distance” situation is in the harbor. As this is FIPPOA property, it is our policy that everyone be masked when you are in the harbor. All the businesses in the Pines still require masks when patronizing their venues, so please follow their policy. And Sayville Ferry follows the CDC order that masks are required on all modes of public transportation. So please remain safe and respect each other – we have a great summer to look forward to!

As was announced for the first time during Spotlight, FIPPOA and the Pines Care Center have worked in collaboration to have Northwell Health set up a vaccination sight at Whyte Hall during the Memorial Day weekend. To move forward, Northwell has asked that we gauge the level of interest. If enough people express interest in obtaining the vaccine they will move forward, otherwise they will not. Please respond to this survey provided if you are interested in getting a vaccine. All are welcome to participate, so feel free to share this opportunity with friends, family, and housemates. We encourage all to get vaccinated to help protect yourself and the community. Special thank you to Dr. Ed Schulhafer, who serves on both the FIPPOA and PCC boards, for coordinating with Northwell.

You may have noticed the blue flagged markers along the stretch of the dirt road on Fire Island Boulevard. Infrastructure lines, such as water and electric, have all been marked so that the grading can begin. We expect the equipment to arrive in the Pines this Friday, May 7^th and work to begin on Monday, May 10^th. The work will begin in the west end of the Pines and make its way east. As of today, the plan is to work from Sandy to Harbor on Monday and Harbor to Sail on Tuesday and Wednesday. It may go further into the week, if necessary. All vehicles and equipment must be removed from the boulevard in order to properly grade the road. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please email [email protected].

Reminder that FIPPOA is sponsoring our annual clean-ups, with this Saturday, May 8th for all household items (no landscaping debris). Please be sure to review the flyer for details on what is allowed. To ensure everyone in the community that wishes has an opportunity to participate, if you have an entire household of debris or multiple large bulk items (more than two mattresses etc.), please hold off and place those items out on Wednesday, bulk day or contact Brownie to make special arrangements.

Thank you to all our volunteers coming out on Saturday to help out with our community event. We still have a few open spots left so if anyone would like to volunteer, please email us at [email protected].  We are currently planning our next cleanup for landscaping debris for the afternoon of Saturday, May 22^nd after the Spring Membership meeting concludes.

FIPPOA will hold its annual spring membership meeting on the deck of Whyte Hall, Saturday, May 22^nd at 10:30AM. Please plan to greet the many new homeowners who have purchased in the Pines over the past year and to hear exciting information about the many FIPPOA initiatives that our residents, board members, and staff have been working on all Winter long.

Carrington Cottage 2^nd Volunteer Opportunity

As previously announced, the Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) is holding a Pines and Cherry Grove volunteer clean-up of the Carrington Cottage on Saturday, May 15^th at 9AM. Volunteers will prep the site for future construction by picking up debris and litter, removing and disposing boardwalk and vinyl flooring in the guest house. For more information, please refer to this link.

All the best!

Henry