State Threatens To Remove Shinnecock Nation's 2 Large Billboards

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Controversy has erupted over a second large electronic billboard being erected by the Shinnecock Nation on the north side of Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays.

On January 28, the New York State Department of Transportation delivered a stop-work order to members of the Shinnecock Nation working on the second electronic billboard on tribal-owned land near the westbound lane of New York State Route 27, directly across the highway from a 61-foot sign erected by the Shinnecock Nation in 2019.

According to a letter dated Jan. 29 from Norman W. Kee, assistant counsel to the NYSDOT, permits have not been issued to the Shinnecock Nation for the ongoing work. The letter stated that beginning Jan. 29, the Nation would be fined $1,000 per day for the new sign; another fine of $1,000 per day would also be levied for the first sign in the eastbound lane, the NYSDOT said.

In addition, after a written request to remove the sign had been issued, the NYSDOT can remove the electronic sign, the NYSDOT said.

"The Nation should deem this letter as a written request from the NYSDOT to remove the electronic billboards on both the eastbound and westbound lanes," the letter said.

The Shinnecock Council of Trustees fired back a response to the NYSDOT's letter and said the battle with the NYSDOT has been ongoing for almost two years over the Nation's right to construct two monuments, dedicated to the Shinnecock people, on lands owned by the Shinnecock Nation.

After public outcry from some elected officials and residents about the electronic billboard erected by the Shinnecock Nation on Sunrise Highway, the New York State Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in May, 2019.

In May, 2020, the Suffolk County Supreme Court issued an order denying the state's request, the statement from the tribal council of trustees said. In denying the NYDOT’s requested relief, Supreme Court Justice Sanford Berland "expressed skepticism that the DOT would be able to prevail on the merits of its claims against the Nation," the council of trustees said.

One day after the new stop-work order was issued on Jan. 28, "The DOT sent a letter to the Nation brazenly threatening the destruction of the monuments if the Nation did not comply with the DOT’s demands. The Nation, however, refuses to cave to the DOT’s ultra vires demands because the DOT lacks authority over Nation lands," the statement from the council of trustees said.

During the past years, the DOT "has baselessly asserted that the monuments pose a danger to the traveling public," the statement read. "While the DOT manufactures safety concerns over the monuments, the Nation labors to ensure the safety of visitors to the Nation’s homelands."

The Shinnecock Nation has either met or exceeded all safety measures recommended by the DOT, "and the courts have agreed that the monuments 'pose no unacceptable safety risk,'" the council of trustees said.

In addition, the Shinnecock council of trustees said, the DOT’s "purported safety concerns over the construction and operation of the monuments ring hollow in light of the fact that the State, itself, has paid to advertise on these very same monuments."

The monuments have also been utilized by local municipalities to raise awareness of public health initiatives during the COVID pandemic, the Shinnecock Nation said.

Members of the Shinnecock Nation have long maintained that the monuments are economic generators.

However, the council of trustees said, "At every turn, the economic development of the Nation has been strangled by the state."

In addition, the monuments, the Shinnecock Council of Trustees added, are "much more than just vehicles for generating desperately needed revenue. While the monuments are an important first step towards economic sovereignty for the Nation, the monuments also serve as a powerful reminder that the Shinnecock people still occupy their ancestral lands despite centuries of racial and economic oppression by the state. The DOT’s latest threat serves as just one example of the mistreatment the Nation has suffered at the hands of the state."

The NYSDOT did not immediately return a request for comment.

The signs have sparked debate on the East End.

Shinnecock Nation Vice President Lance Gumbs said as a federal tribe, the Shinnecock Indian Nation was immune to local, county, and state regulation.

Local elected officials, in a 2019 letter to the Shinnecock Tribal Council, said the signs were an eyesore and could detract from the East End's bucolic quality of life. Some residents also organized a protest of what they felt were unsightly signs.

Elected officials also said they questioned whether the structures complied with federal highway law in terms of setbacks from the roadway and fall zones from a designated evacuation route. They also expressed fears that motorists, distracted by the signs, might crash into the signs — and about the impacts of light pollution on nearby residents and wildlife.

"We understand that the tribal council believes that these are sovereign lands, immune from local, county, and state regulation," the elected officials wrote. "Whether or not such immunity exists, we implore the Shinnecock Indian Nation to stop construction and work collectively with other South Fork governmental jurisdictions on economic development projects that are more in keeping with our area."

In 2019, Gumbs described the "victory" of seeing the first sign erected, a joyful moment he said was made even more meaningful by watching the happiness on the faces of the 100 or so members of the Shinnecock Nation who gathered at the site.

He also spoke of disillusionment and a lifetime of frustration: "I, and others in the community, have waited a lifetime for this, a lifetime for our tribe to have an achievement of this magnitude. And a visual achievement — no one even knew that property was ours. They ride through that area without ever realizing that the property belongs to the Shinnecock Nation, and that it is the last remaining piece that we never lost, that never changed hands — that wasn't stolen from us."

Gumbs spoke of the detractors who, he said, have deemed the sign an "eyesore. We've watched this eyesore of the Hamptons grow for 400 years."

He pointed to signs, gas stations, and buildings on County Road 39 and said he remains incredulous over the uproar about "our little sign over on the highway. It's just ridiculous."

The issue, Gumbs believes, is not really about the sign. "It's about the control the town wants to exert over our Nation. It's the 'you can't' mentality from the town against the Nation that's been around since first contact. We're tired of hearing, 'You can't,'" he said.

Gumbs scoffed at the argument that the Shinnecock Nation is not being a good neighbor. "It's so hypocritical. When has the town been a good neighbor to us? Everything we do is a 'no,' or a 'you can't do that because it's going to infringe on our Hamptons.' When the Hamptons have been built upon the stolen lands of our people," he said.

Gumbs said sign-generated revenue will help "immensely" in terms of bolstering programs on the reservation.

"As a tribal leader, when you have 60 percent of our people living below the poverty line as of the 2010 census, you have to do something about it," Gumbs said.

And, he added: "When you live in one of the richest towns in the areas surrounded by all of this opulence, they should be ashamed of allowing something like this to happen in their beautiful so-called Hamptons. We are not looking for handouts. We are looking for our own economic development avenues so we can be self-sustaining."

As the first sign was being erected, a rainbow illuminated the sky above, Gumbs said. "It was a beautiful gift from the Creator to let us know that we are doing the right thing. It was absolutely a sign that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Shinnecock Indian Nation. We just need to be patient."

In November, members of the Shinnecock Nation participated in "Sovereignty Camp 2020," a month-long occupation of original aboriginal territory on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays to shine a light on the need for the tribe's economic advancement.

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd has also shown his support for the Nation's fight.