This past Tuesday, March 28th, at the urging of Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, the US Army Corps of Engineers towed an 80-foot beam that had become lodged in the shoreline back out to sea. The beam had gotten snagged and had been partially attached to a landing near the Bungalow Bar, a popular local pub, for well over a month.

Daniel “Dee” Tubridy, the owner of Bungalow Bar, had been afraid that errant winds or currents might cause the beam to smash the restaurant’s rear dock. “The Army Corps did us a solid here, and we really want to thank them,” Tubridy said. “We’d been trying to get this taken care of, and didn’t quite know how. We’ve been through a lot as a restaurant, but this was a new thing, and the departments seemed a little confused about what to do. Once we called Stacey’s office, though, that was it. They were great – they made the connection quickly to the right people, we got it done, and that’s a big load off our minds.”

By Wednesday morning, March 29th, the beam had been towed out to sea, and no longer posed a threat to local people or property. “I’m so grateful to the Army Corps, who did an incredible job,” said Pheffer Amato. “I’m a huge fan of the Bungalow Bar, and their dock is one of their best features. If the beam had hit it, I don’t know how I would have lived with myself.

“In all seriousness,” she continued, “Bungalow Bar is a fixture of our community, and it was a pleasure to help them overcome an unexpected obstacle. Our neighbors face a lot of aftershocks from the events of Superstorm Sandy and from climate change. We’re here to help. I hope other community members come to us to help solve their problems, whether they’re small problems or 80 feet long.”