Thursday, October 1, 2026
Within days of Newsday’s reported reduction in hours at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay, as a direct result of the Trump administration’s firing of nearly 1,000 National Park Service employees, my office received a copy of a classic edition of Newsday from 1962. The main story that day was about a massive late-season storm that had wiped out dozens of homes on the South Shore. But what caught my eye was an article about how a congressional committee had unanimously approved legislation that would make national shrines of Sagamore Hill and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace in New York City.
What does it tell us about where we are as a nation that in March of 1962, Congress was taking action to ensure that all future generations would be able to visit the home of one of our greatest presidents, and 63 years later, the current White House occupant, blessed with the full support of the majority of Congress no matter what he does, is actually limiting the public’s ability to do just that?
I have been in the Assembly for two redistrictings. When asked what I preferred to remain in the 13th District, my only request has been that Sagamore Hill stay in the community I am privileged to represent.
We are so lucky to have this historical gem right here in our own backyard. Recently I was fortunate to be able to see it through the wonder-struck eyes of my grandson. It is nothing short of shameful that its hours are being restricted as part of the collateral damage of President Trump’s impetuousness, powered by First Buddy Elon Musk’s DOGE chainsaw.
In a letter to the president, I pointed out the hypocrisy of how cuts to the National Park Service and the resulting outcomes come as DOGE ordered the closure of a Social Security office in Republican Congressman Tom Cole’s district. Cole now boasts that the office will remain open due to his personal relationships with Trump and Musk.
In the letter, I noted my reasons for considering Theodore Roosevelt one of our greatest presidents: his championing of campaign finance reform and consumer protections, creating the Forest Service, denouncing the Russian czar’s murderous pogroms, and fighting against monopolies. Roosevelt believed that “Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as anyone else.”
With this in mind, I told our current president that Roosevelt’s spirit of Americanism is every bit as consequential today as it was over a century ago. I pointed out that his home is a unique American treasure, adding that another great American, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, did a lot of her growing up in that magnificent house.
I told Trump that while I certainly lack Tom Cole’s personal relationships with either Musk or him, I sense that he would agree that Sagamore Hill is at least as nationally significant as an Oklahoma Social Security office, and I therefore respectfully urged that he order a full restoration of its hours.
A lot has changed since that classic edition of Newsday was published. The Mets were in spring training ahead of their inaugural season; President John F. Kennedy was actually cutting tariffs as a way to spur the economy; and you could get a full living room set for under $400 and the average new car for about $2,500.
What hasn’t changed, and in fact, has only grown? Our fascination with, and appreciation of, one Theodore Roosevelt.
I am honored, as a member of the Assembly, to be sponsoring legislative resolutions commemorating May 2025 as the 141st anniversary of the groundbreaking for Sagamore Hill, and July 25 as the 63rd anniversary of its designation as a National Historic Site.
We owe it to ourselves to preserve T.R.’s legacy, not to look for ways to diminish it just to save a buck or two.
Charles Lavine represents the 13th Assembly District.
