Bill Bleyer

President

Bill Bleyer was named to the board of Friends of the Bay in the fall of 2018. The following year he became secretary and then president in January 2020.

Before joining the FOB board, in 2018 Bill was a founder of the Coalition Against An UnSound Crossing, serving as the nonprofit organization’s vice president.

​Bill was a prize-winning staff writer for Newsday for 33 years before retiring in 2014 to write books and freelance for magazines and Newsday. He began his career as editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian for a year.

He is the author of The Roosevelts in New York City (History Press 2025), The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound (The History Press 2024) ​, George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide published by The History Press in May 2021, Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History (The History Press 2019), The Fire Island Lighthouse: Long Island’s Welcoming Beacon (The History Press 2017), Sagamore Hill: Theodore Roosevelt's Summer White House (The History Press 2016) and co-author of Long Island and the Civil War (The History Press 2015).

The Hofstra University graduate has taught economics and journalism at the school and Long Island maritime history at Webb Institute in Glen Cove.

A former president of the Press Club of Long Island and national board member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Bill has been inducted into the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame.