Infant Memorial Bench at East Hampton Beach Destroyed

A memorial bench at Sammy’s beach in East Hampton was destroyed to make firewood last Saturday, according to East Hampton Town Police.

Police responded to the beach on reports of a damaged bench at about 10:36 a.m., which was believed to be damaged overnight, according to police.

The wooden bench, which was chained to a large driftwood log, was removed from its original location and burned in a beach fire, police said.

Officers canvassed the area with negative results as all the houses in the area were vacant, according to police.

Photos were taken and the East Hampton Parks Department was notified to remove debris, police said.

At this time there is no information as to who the person(s) responsible for the damage is and the case will be pended.

The bench was donated by Jacob and Joanne Ben-Avi in memory of their son and daughter-in-law’s baby Falcon Poteah Ben-Avi in 2014, according to Town records.

Jacob told police that he didn’t know anyone who would want to damage the bench since all of the surrounding residents were appreciative when it was placed there.

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