Fire Island, New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Fire Island.
Fire Island
Enlarge
Fire Island

Fire Island is a barrier island, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long and 0.5 mi. (1 km) wide, in Suffolk County on the southern side of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The land area is 22.505 km² (8.689 sq mi) and a population of 491 persons was reported as of the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] Fire Island geography

Fire Island is separated from Long Island by the five mile (eight km) wide Great South Bay, a natural harbor formed by the island. A small portion is accessible from Long Island by the Robert Moses Causeway on its western end and by William Floyd Parkway (Suffolk County Road 46) near its eastern end. The island and its resort towns are mainly accessible by the numerous ferries that traverse Great South Bay or by private watercraft.

[edit] Fire Island landmarks and preserves

Except for the western 5 mi. (8 km) of the island, the island is protected as part of Fire Island National Seashore. Robert Moses State Park on the western tip of the island is one of the popular recreational destinations in the New York City area. The Fire Island Lighthouse is a visible landmark just east of Robert Moses State Park.

A memorial to TWA800 is located on the island.

[edit] Inhabitants of Fire Island

The incorporated villages of Ocean Beach and Saltaire within Fire Island National Seashore are carfree during the summer tourist season (Memorial Day through Labor Day) and permit only pedestrian and bicycle traffic (during certain hours only in Ocean Beach). For off-season use, there are a limited number of driving permits for year-round residents and contractors. Fire Island also contains a number of unincorporated villages (hamlets). Two of these hamlets, known as the Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, have a reputation as being popular destinations for gay vacationers.

View of western Fire Island from the top of Fire Island Lighthouse
Enlarge
View of western Fire Island from the top of Fire Island Lighthouse

Beach erosion largely due to construction of jetties at the Moriches Inlet, opened naturally by a storm in 1931 and widened by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1938, is described in a report on the geological effects of the Hurricane of 1938.

The avant-garde American poet Frank O'Hara was struck and injured by a beach buggy on the early morning of July 24, 1966, and died the following day.

[edit] Fire Island on film

When Ocean Meets Sky [1] (2003), a documentary detailing the 50-year history of the Fire Island Pines community, had its television premiere on June 10, 2006. Frank Perry's Last Summer (1969), about a summer of sexual discovery on Fire Island, brought an Oscar nomination for actress Catherine Burns. Garbo Talks (1984) has scenes of the Fire Island ferry. Longtime Companion (1990) is a drama that re-creates chronologically the spread of AIDS during the 1980s. Returning Mickey Stern (2003) was shot almost entirely in Seaview and Ocean Beach; the entire cast and crew were housed on Fire Island. ABC's reality show One Ocean View (2006) was shot on Fire Island. Fire Island is also the setting of Terrence McNally's play Lips Together, Teeth Apart

[edit] Famous summer residents

After the Manhattan theater community began staying on Fire Island during the 1920s, the island had numerous summer celebrity residents.

[edit] Communities and locations

[edit] Communities

  • Atlantique – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Bayberry Dunes – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Cherry Grove– A hamlet in the western part of the island popular with lesbians and gay men.
  • Corneille Estates
  • Davis Park/Ocean Ridge – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Dunewood – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Fair Harbor – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Fire Island Pines – A hamlet in the western part of the island; a popular vacation spot for wealthy gay men.
  • Kismet – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Lonelyville – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Long Cove – A hamlet in the eastern part of the island.
  • Ocean Bay Park – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Ocean Beach – The Village of Ocean Beach.
  • Point O'Woods – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Robbins Rest – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Saltaire – The Village of Saltaire.
  • Seaview – A hamlet in the western part of the island.
  • Watch Hill – A hamlet at the eastern part of the island.
  • Water Island – A hamlet in the eastern part of the island.

[edit] Other small islands around Fire Island

  • West Fire Island – A small island with only about five houses
  • East Fire Island – Another longer and larger island next to West Fire Island, this island, unlike West Fire Island, is unhabited (people are allowed, although there are no tours, so the only way to get there is on your own boat).

[edit] Parks

[edit] Inlets

  • Fire Island Inlet – The gap between the west end of Fire Island and Jones Beach Island, allowing watercraft to enter the Atlantic Ocean from the Great South Bay.
  • Moriches Inlet – An inlet at the eastern end of the island.

[edit] Other locations

  • Clam Pond – A small cove in Saltaire and Fair Harbor

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Map

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../f/i/r/Fire_Island%2C_New_York_6eef.html"
In other languages