Kings Park Bluff's history to be set in stone

Kings Park Bluff on Saturday is to become home to a new stone monument celebrating its history.

Pamela Mary Schmidt, a teacher, environmental activist and lifelong Kings Park resident, wanted to build a monument to celebrate the bluff overlooking Long Island Sound. The monument installation is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m.

"The bluff is a very unique and special place, and encompasses our identity," Schmidt said. "When you leave, you always feel better."

The bluff is at the Nissequogue River's entrance into the Sound, east of Sunken Meadow State Park. Its scenic views, dunes and network of trails attract frequent visitors who hike, bike and picnic.

During the past two years, Schmidt has advocated for the bluff's preservation with an environmental advocacy group she founded, A Voice for the Bluff. The group's initiatives involve increasing environmental awareness, fighting erosion at Kings Park Bluff and facilitating beach cleanups.

Schmidt said there was an outpouring of community stories about the bluff on social media and she decided that a monument would "provide acknowledgment" for these stories and memories. The monument also will acknowledge the bluff's history and importance to maritime transportation in the 18th and 19th centuries, Schmidt said.

"By something permanent being there, now you're connecting generation to generation," Schmidt said.

Peter Marmorato, of Art Stone and Memorial Co. in Kings Park, donated the granite stone, at a cost of more than $2,000. The monument, about 21/2 feet high, will be located near the decorative lighthouse at the bluff's entrance.

Kings Park artist Christine Dabrowski created the design - and image of the Long Island Sound and bluff - that will be etched on the monument with an inscription.