PETA Throws Out a Line For Another Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Aug 13, 2007 in Opinion 
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Execution Rocks, recently excessed by the Coast Guard, is the latest lighthouse to go on PETA’s fishing stringer. Applications for the light, located about a mile offshore in Nassau County near the west end of Long Island Sound, New York, closed July 29. The only two applicants are Historically Significant Structures, based in Philadelphia, PA and (no surprise) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Historically Significant Structures, while maybe a more appropriate owner, has been passed over by the General Services Administration for ownership of other lighthouses, notably Goose Rocks Lighthouse in Maine, as not being a suitable applicant. And PETA’s plans, as with the others they are trolling for, of course include renovating the lighthouse to fit their Fish Empathy project agenda. I have to wonder if they’ve actually read the 
Announcement and Fact Sheet. If they have, then they should be aware the only types of renovation are allowed is historically accurate.
From LighthouseFriends.Com comes this explanation of how Execution Rocks got its name:
According to folklore, which has never been proven true, the British avoided public executions in Colonial times because they would inflame the revolutionary spirit of the American people. Instead, they would carry the condemned to these reefs at low tide, chain them to rings embedded in the rock, and wait for high tide to carry out the death sentence. Some say the skeletons were left to torture the minds of the newly condemned as they faced certain death.
The ghosts of the condemned had their revenge. A shipload of British soldiers, sent to pursue Washington on his retreat from Manhattan to White Plains, foundered at the reef. No redcoats survived.
The legend of the executions had such hold, that when lightkeepers were assigned to Execution Rocks, they were under a unique contract. No lightkeeper was to ever feel chained to the reef. Instead of stating a set length of duty, their contract read that their length of service was for as long as they were willing. If for any reason, they requested a transfer, it was instantly granted.
Perhaps PETA’s desire for a lighthouse with a name like Execution Rocks fits their idea of selling “faux fish sticks” and other vegan fare, but to me it is just another bit of grandstanding on their part. While I have nothing but respect for those that class themselves as vegans, I do not now or ever want anyone dictating what I eat, as PETA seems to want to do. And I, like most other fish in the sea, would live on seafood if given the chance. And a bad day fishing is a hundred times better than a day at work.
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August 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 am
Dear Ms. Clark,
I am writing to respond to your characterization that Historically Significant Structures, Inc, was “passed over by General Services Administration as a suitable applicant for other lighthouses.”
Please allow me to set the record straight. The organization was not passed over for other lighthouses. Goose Rocks Lighthouse located in Maine was the organization’s first and only application for one of the lighthouses in the Lighthouse program. We are now applyng for our second lighthouse, Execution Rocks Lighthouse. We would appreciate any help and support especially from organizations that have been successful in obtaining a lighthouse for their non-profit organization under the Lighthouse Act of 2000.
Our application is due November 20, 2007.
Thank you.
Linell Lukesh
Treasurer
Historically Significant Structures, Inc.
201 So 18th Street Suite 1418
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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November 15th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
[…] PETA isn’t one of them. Regular readers of this site will remember that at one time, PETA was sending out applications to the GSA on every offshore lighthouse that was being excessed, with the intention of running a […]