Broken Flag Is Proving a Puzzle, Is it art or political commentary that lies broken on the Ditch Plain beach?
Someone has painted what appears to be a large but fractured American flag on slabs of concrete that fell onto Ditch Plain beach in Montauk from the bluff above. Some residents have wondered whether it is art or graffiti, or if it is meant to be patriotic or a criticism of the state of the union.
The broken flag rests on East Hampton Town-owned beach just east of the border between Shadmoor State Park and Rheinstein Park, which is owned and managed by the town.
Walter Galcik, who monitors Ditch Plain for the East Hampton Town Department of Natural Resources, said that a decision had not been made about what to do, if anything, with the mysterious art.
Personally, Mr, Galcik said, he would like to see it painted over, because it might encourage graffiti. And as a veteran of World War II, "It bothers me. I don't appreciate it."
"It's no big deal. There was a house there. It's not on the rocks, it's on a pile of house rubble. It's going to wash off anyway," said Stuart Foley, who owns the Air and Speed board shop on Main Street in Montauk, and gives surfing lessons within sight of the flag.
Lily Monahan, who runs the popular Ditch Witch food and beverage wagon, said she liked the flag. "I've heard that people complain because it's fractured. I think it's nice. Can't we interpret the flag in many ways, you know, like Jasper Johns?"
The broken concrete slabs that make up the mystery artist's canvas are remnants of the foundation of one of Montauk's grandest windmill dwellings. It was designed and built in 1928 by Richard Webb for Walter McCaffray, a Wall Street broker who held a dozen seats on the stock exchange. He called his estate Sandpiper Hill. Wooden statues of Indians marked its eastern and western boundaries. Beside the front door stood a statue of Capt. William Kidd.
Sandpiper Hill sat atop the present bluff, although it extended much farther seaward at the time. The beach below it was wide enough then for Mr. McCaffray to build a beach house; it was constructed in the shape of a boat, and had showers and a deck for afternoon cocktails. The estate also had a nine-hole golf course; all that remains of the course are drain pipes that protrude from the bluff. Mr. McCaffray committed suicide when the market crashed in 1929.
The estate was later donated to the Jesuit order, which sold it to Sidney Rheinstein, another stockbroker. Mr. Rheinstein died in TKTKTK. By 1976, erosion had undermined the foundation, and the house was demolished, although its windmill was sold to Peter Beard, who moved it to his property farther east. The mill burned to the ground a year later.
The concrete underpinnings, pipe, and tile from the basement sauna and shower room of the original house have found their way, ever so slowly, like a melting glacier, onto the beach. For years, pilings that were part of a bluff-buttressing bulkhead stood apart from the eroding headland. Not only did they indicate the sea's relentless landward march, but they also marked a favorite surfing spot still known as Poles, years after the pilings disappeared.
Tom Dess, superintendent of Montauk's state parks, said he was glad not to have to decide what to do about the broken flag.
"Is it graffiti, or is it not graffiti? Graffiti breeds graffiti. On the one hand, it adds spice. On the other hand, it's the American flag. Flags are not supposed be on the ground," Mr. Dess said. "Would I paint over it? The next winter storm will sandblast it anyway."