In a surprise development, Newport artist Roberto Julio Bessin's majestic 40-foot heron sculpture has been declared a monument -- a classification that makes possible the return of the big bird to its perch in Peconic Bay in Southold, Long Island.

The sculpture was sent into exile earlier this year after a judge in New York upheld a ruling by Southold officials that the heron, at least for zoning purposes, was essentially the same as a radio tower and therefore required a building permit (see "Height of absurdity," News, August 31). The case became a cause célèbre in the affluent town on the northeast tip of Long Island, sparking claims of censorship and elitism. And Bessin, a native of Venezuela who moved to Newport with his family in the mid-'90s, proved a formidable advocate, attracting the attention of First Amendment expert Floyd Abrams and the prospective interest of Sullivan & Cromwell, an old-money Manhattan law firm whose best-known clients include Microsoft.

In the end, a change of administration in the town supervisor's office in Southold appears to have been the decisive factor. Bessin, who was traveling in the Arctic on an education project, says Jim Miller, the owner of the heron sculpture, ran into consistent obstacles while trying to obtain a building permit from Town Hall. But in an early November election, Republican Jean Corcoran was voted out as town supervisor, and Josh Horton, a young tugboat captain -- "a sort of wild entry," says Bessin -- pulled off a 2-to-1 victory. "Shortly thereafter, Jim went to the Building Department, and they indicated that he had everything necessary for a building permit," the sculptor says. "They accepted his designation of the heron sculpture being a monument. That allows for the monument to be placed on his property without a variance."

Stephen Angel, the lawyer for the heron's opponents, told Newsday that he expects his clients to continue the fight. "I'm shocked that he [Miller] brought it back," he told the newspaper. "I don't know how it can be done."

But Bessin, who was inspired to create the 40-foot heron after, years earlier, seeing an egret bathed in ethereal light in San Francisco Bay, is ecstatic about the decision. After the arrival of the bird on Miller's property attracted opposition from a handful of well-heeled neighbors, and specious claims that the sculpture would lower property values, "Common sense has prevailed," he says.

With a $5000 contribution from Miller, Bessin hopes to build a 40-foot osprey to fill the heron's temporary perch in Greenport, a village within Southold that rallied to the sculptor's defense.

Issue Date: December 7 - 13, 2001