Dix Hills Street Renamed for Parkland Teacher

The town renamed a street Saturday in honor of Scott J. Beigel, a Dix Hills native who was killed protecting his students at the Parkland school shooting in February.

A street sign reading Scott J. Beigel Way was unveiled at the corner of Half Hollow Road and Hart Place, where Beigel grew up. His relatives, including his parents,Linda Beigel-Schulman and Michael Schulman, several gun control activists, former campers of the teacher and families of two Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School  shooting victims were among those attending the ceremony.

Several officials spoke, including Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Town Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, Town Board member Joan Cergol, Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, who told the story of the murder by gun of her own father.

“I don’t have the words to console a family like this,” Hochul said. “I am so in awe of this family and the energy to do what they’ve done.”

“Someday when someone says, ‘Why is this street named Scott Beigel?’ there will be a powerful story to tell about a movement that started with his death and the death of young people who did nothing more than show up for school one day,” Hochul said. She urged passage of a “red-flag bill” in the state, allowing  school officials to seek to block access to guns for students showing signs of being a threat to themselves or others.

Beigel’s mother, Linda Beigel-Schulman, was near tears at different points in the ceremony, but spoke firmly and passionately about gun control and the need for Americans to vote out politicians who sided with the National Rifle Association.

“If you don’t stand up to the NRA, we will vote you out,” she said. “An F rating from the NRA is an A rating for humanity.”

Also on hand were several state representatives, including  Assemblymen Andrew Raia, Charles Lavine and Steve Stern, and State Senate candidate and chairman of the Suffolk Water Authority, James Gaughran.

Protesters Demand Action on Gun Safety

 

Leave a Reply