I introduced a bill this week asking the federal government to study formal designation for Long Island’s many significant sites related to aviation history, ranging from the take-off site of Charles Lindbergh’s famous transcontinental flight to the landing of the Grumman lunar space module, which was made with the help of Long Island engineers and technicians.
Whether it was Lindbergh’s flight or us putting a man on the moon or countless other milestones in world aviation history, Long Island has played a major role. Making these sites part of the National Park Service system would help place Long Island more prominently on the map of world history and generate more interest here for visitors and historians alike. I’d like to thank my constituent Adam Sackowitz for bringing this great idea to my office’s attention.
The bill, which is being co-sponsored by every member of Long Island’s Congressional Delegation, was originally suggested by a 20-year-old student and National Park Service volunteer from my district, Adam Sackowitz. Mr. Sackowitz visited me in Washington this week for the occasion of the bill’s introduction, meeting with me and receiving a tour of the Capitol by my staff during his visit.
Mr. Sackowitz, of Westbury, is a junior at Hofstra University in Hempstead and a longtime advocate and volunteer of the National Park Service. He also serves as a park guide at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay. He called the introduction of the Long Island Aviation History Act “greatly merited and an important step in preserving Long Island’s Aviation Heritage.”
The legislation, attached, called the Long Island Aviation History Act, requires the National Park Service to study various ways to commemorate and preserve Long Island’s aviation history, including by designating parts of Long Island as National Historic Sites and National Historic Parks. The bill also requires the National Park Service to evaluate ways to enhance historical research, education, interpretation and public awareness of Long Island’s aviation history.
is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.
