'It's Just Terrible': Sculpture Stolen From LI Art Installation

PATCHOGUE, NY — First it was there, then it wasn't.

A five-foot-long sculpture of a canoe with the silhouette of a couple embracing as part of a temporary art installation seems to have vanished without a trace in Patchogue.

The sculpture was taken from its place at the corner of South Ocean Avenue and Terry Streetsometime between Wednesday and Friday, said Village Clerk Lori Devlin, adding that it was the artist, Pauline Leilani Badamo, who reported the theft after she went to check on the piece.

"It was pretty nice," said Devlin of the sculpture, which was highlighted at night with blue and purple lights.

The sculpture was lightweight, but it did contain some copper, which could have attracted the thief or thieves, said Devlin, adding that not enough of the element was present to result in any kind of a windfall at a scrapper. It cost roughly $1,500 in materials, but Badamo's work is immeasurable, she said.

The sculpture was installed as part of an annual summer installation in a small garden across from the Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center.

"We've had sculptures in that garden every year," said Devlin, who also serves as the president of the Patchogue Arts Council, which organizes the installations. "I'm going to say at least the last six-to-eight years, and we have never had anything stolen. And we have had things made of metal and wooden posts. A thief could have easily just, like, cut it off and taken it, and nothing has ever disappeared."

"So, we are pretty upset about this," she added.

Patch has reached out to Badamo for comment.

Fifth Precinct Crime Section officers are investigating the theft, a Suffolk police spokeswoman said Tuesday.

What's also troubling is that there is no security video to help police with any leads so that the sculpture might be recovered, said Devlin, adding that the village does not have any security cameras there and ArtSpace across the street does not have anything facing that direction.

Devlin even checked with Village Attorney Brian Egan, whose office is across the street, but his security camera faces a different angle and did not pick anything up, she said.

"I don't know what is going to happen," she said. "How can I resolve this?"

The arts council has begun an insurance claim as far as compensating this "poor woman," Devlin said.

The temporary installation takes place from the summer to the fall every year.

"It gives a nice look to the garden in the summer," Devlin said. "It's just something that we have always found to be a really nice addition to the downtown, and it's just terrible that you can't have nice things."

Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce Director David Kennedy is now asking merchants in the area to check their security footage for any clues that might help recover the sculpture. Merchants are asked to call Devlin at 631-475-4300.

Police are asking anyone with information about the sculpture to call Crime Stoppers, a confidential hotline, at 1-800-220-TIPS. All tips will remain anonymous, police said.