Newsday.com: Angels on Wheels

Project Zip Codes: Wyandanch

Angels on Wheels

BY JIM PEPPLER
Newsday Staff Writer

It started with a feast. Last November, Newsday reporter Jennifer Smith and I went to cover the Peace Makers' annual holiday dinner in Wyandanch for a Thanksgiving Day story. At their motorcycle clubhouse on Straight Path, a hearty meal was provided for the hungry. Anyone and everyone was welcome.

What we saw that day was more than a biker club. We saw the heart and soul of a community organization giving back to a hamlet that has struggled with the effects of poverty, crime and isolation.

We decided that the story of the Peace Makers was more than a one-day account. And throughout the year, amid other assignments, Smith continued to gather information about the club and its members, and I continued to photograph them.

Started 28 years ago as a social group of church-going motorcyclists, the Peace Makers took on the emblem of a dove carrying an olive branch and became a neighborhood resource. Islip Town Supervisor Steve Bellone describes them as community "role models."

With courage and generosity, they function as an organization driven by camaraderie and civic duty. One member said, "When you have 'The Bird' on your back, you have a special responsibility."

In this photo essay and its corresponding multimedia presentation on newsday.com, we look at a spirited group making a difference in Wyandanch.