2004

Powder coated steel fence in six sections totaling approximately 120’ x 6’ x ½, plus five seagulls, each 14” x 24” x ¼”

Commissions, Permanent Public Art

Permanent project commissioned by the Percent for Art Program of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the NYC Fire Department, and the Department of Design and Construction.

“Best on the Beach” is a steel fence for a combined Fire/EMS Station in Far Rockaway, Queens.

The Fire/EMS House is located on a narrow peninsula, between the Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay. The fence celebrates the location of the House, with large ocean waves at one end and smaller, gentler bay waves at the other. The Company that uses this house is proud that they initiated the practice, now followed by all NYC fire companies operating near the ocean, of carrying a surf board for surf rescues. The Company’s slogan “Best on the Beach,” therefore appears here, marking the fence as belonging to this Company. Seagulls sit on posts, as they do in Far Rockaway. The fence defines a patio area used by the people who work there, so it is seen both by the firefighters from inside and the public from outside. The design and the structural pickets are therefore cut from solid panels, so there is no back or front, no inside or outside.