Fort Tilden Observation Deck Faces Flames

By Katie McFadden

The wooden observation deck atop Battery Harris in Fort Tilden fell victim to a fire on Tuesday evening.

At 6:26 p.m. on March 10, neighbors in Roxbury called 911 as they could see smoke and flames billowing high atop Fort Tilden. FDNY and local volunteers fire departments responded to the all hands fire off of Center Road in Fort Tilden within minutes. According to the FDNY, 21 units responded, including 79 EMS and fire personnel. The fire was under control by 6:52 p.m.

As we go to press, the extent of the damage to the platform or the staircase leading up to it is unclear, but it’s safe to say the wooden structure is no longer usable. However, locals say it will be rebuilt.

American Littoral Society naturalist Don Riepe, who used to work for the National Park Service, leads a few tours a year atop the observation tower that had been a go-to spot for birders, especially during the hawk migration season in the fall. He last led a tour to the top on New Year’s Day to ring in 2026. Riepe said the observation deck and the 70-step staircase up to it had been there for at least 20 years, built with the help of local resident, Tom Fox, and a generous donation. It then underwent significant repairs in October 2017. The observation deck sits atop Battery Harris East, a decommissioned, World War II-era military coastal defense battery along the trails of Fort Tilden.

Riepe believes the fire in such a secluded, high area, wasn’t due to natural causes. “This has got to be arson,” he said. Riepe referenced recent fires not too far away, including December’s fire at a cabana structure at the Silver Gull Beach Club and the June 2023 that put the final nail in the coffin of the nearby T-9 building in Fort Tilden. “It’s gotta be all related,” he said.

But Riepe is hopeful that the observation tower will have a happier ending. “We’ll rebuild it,” he said. “Putting it back isn’t a big deal. We’ll raise some money, talk to a carpenter and come up with a design, get some wood and we’ll get it built.”

Riepe said Alex Zablocki, former executive director of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, has already made a generous donation toward the cause, and he’s welcome to any additional help. Donations can be made to the American Littoral Society at www.littoralsociety.org or email Riepe at donriepe@gmail.com for more info.