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Fire Island, New York

 
Fire Island, New York

 
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Fire Island, New York
 
 
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Fire Island is one of Long Island's south shore outer barrier islands, approximately 31 miles (50 km) long and varying between approximately 0.1 mile (160 m) to 0.25 mile (400 m) wide. Fire Island passes through southern Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York

Suffolk County is a Political subdivisions of New York State#County located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island....
, and is southeast of Long Island
Long Island

Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are Borough s of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban....
 separated from the main land by the Great South Bay
Great South Bay

The Great South Bay is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 45 mi long, forming a large natural harbor on the southern side of Long Island in the U.S....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, running approximately SW to NE. The land area is 8.687 sq. mi. (22.5 km˛), and a permanent population of 491 people was reported as of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000

File:US-Census-2000Logo.svgThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the United States Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1990....
.






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Encyclopedia


Fire Island is one of Long Island's south shore outer barrier islands, approximately 31 miles (50 km) long and varying between approximately 0.1 mile (160 m) to 0.25 mile (400 m) wide. Fire Island passes through southern Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York

Suffolk County is a Political subdivisions of New York State#County located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island....
, and is southeast of Long Island
Long Island

Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are Borough s of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban....
 separated from the main land by the Great South Bay
Great South Bay

The Great South Bay is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 45 mi long, forming a large natural harbor on the southern side of Long Island in the U.S....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, running approximately SW to NE. The land area is 8.687 sq. mi. (22.5 km˛), and a permanent population of 491 people was reported as of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000

File:US-Census-2000Logo.svgThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the United States Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1990....
. (There are hundreds of thousands of summertime residents, groupers and daytrippers.) The island is composed of three communities, as defined by the Census Bureau. The largest of these is Fire Island (CDP), which is unincorporated and stretches through the southern portion of the towns of Babylon
Babylon (town), New York

The Political subdivisions of New York State of Babylon is located in southwestern Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 211,792....
, Islip
Islip (town), New York

The Political subdivisions of New York State#Town of Islip is located in southern Suffolk County, New York, New York on the south shore of Long Island....
, and Brookhaven
Brookhaven, New York

The Town of Brookhaven is located in central Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States, and stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island....
, and has a 2000 census population of 310 inhabitants. There are also two villages in the Islip section of the island, Saltaire
Saltaire, New York

Saltaire is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. Founded in 1910. The population was 43 at the 2000 census....
 (pop. 43) and Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach, New York

The Village of Ocean Beach is in the south part of the Islip, New York on Fire Island, New York in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is considered a more popular tourist location, due to its increased number of stores and restaurants among other communities....
 (pop. 138). In addition, a part of Fire Island CDP is not even on the island, but on a separate island adjacent to West Hampton Dunes
West Hampton Dunes, New York

West Hampton Dunes is a village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 11 at the United States 2000 Census....
. The stated land area and population figures result when this section is subtracted out.

Geography

Fire Island is about 5˝ miles (8.9 km) south of the main land of Long Island (although within a mile in its eastern portion). It is separated from the main land by a series of interconnected bays: Great South Bay
Great South Bay

The Great South Bay is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 45 mi long, forming a large natural harbor on the southern side of Long Island in the U.S....
, Patchogue Bay
Patchogue Bay

Patchogue Bay is a bay on the south-central shores of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.Part of the Great South Bay, Patchogue Bay is a cove between the points of land known as Blue Point, New York and Howells Point, and across which Ferry run south to Fire Island, New York....
, Bellport Bay, Narrow Bay, and Moriches Bay. The island is accessible by automobile from Long Island by the Robert Moses Causeway
Robert Moses Causeway

The Robert Moses Causeway is an long parkway in Suffolk County, New York. The parkway, originally known as the Captree Causeway, connects West Islip, New York on Long Island to the barrier beach islands, such as Captree Island, Jones Beach Island, and the western tip of Fire Island, to the south....
 on its western end to the Parking Fields for day use and by William Floyd Parkway (Suffolk County Road 46
County Route 46 (Suffolk County, New York)

Suffolk County Road 46 is a major county road in eastern Suffolk County, New York, New York. It runs north and south from County Route 75 in Smith Point County Park to New York State Route 25A near the border of Shoreham, New York and Wading River, New York....
) near its eastern end. Motorized vehicles (except for emergency access reasons) do not travel between the two ends. Though essentially the island and its resort towns are accessible by the numerous ferries
Ferry

A ferry is a form of transport, usually a boat or ship, used to carry passengers and their vehicles across a body of water. Ferries are also used to transport freight and even railroad cars....
 there are few service oriented vehicles and police and fire fighting buggies.

Fire Island is located at 40° 39' 35" North, 73° 5' 23" West (40.653188, -73.125795). According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, Fire Island has a total area of 8.742 mi˛ (22.64 km˛), which includes 0.1415 km˛ of water.

History


Physical history

The physical attributes of the island have changed over time and it continues to change. At one point it stretched more than from Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island

Jones Beach Island is a barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones ....
 to Southampton
Southampton (village), New York

Southampton is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, USA. The village is named after the Earl of Southampton....
.

Around 1683, Fire Island Inlet
Fire Island Inlet

Fire Island Inlet is an inlet on the south shore of Long Island, New York, USA. It connects the Great South Bay with the Atlantic Ocean, passing between Robert Moses State Park on the south and Oak Beach, New York and Captree State Park on the north....
 broke through, separating it from Jones Beach Island.

The Fire Island Inlet was to grow to nine miles (14 km) in width before receding. The Fire Island Lighthouse built in 1858 was built right on the inlet, but Fire Island's western terminus at Democrat Point has steadily moved west so that the lighthouse today is six miles (10 km) from the inlet.

Fire Island separated from Southampton in a 1931 Nor'easter
Nor'easter

A nor'easter is a kind of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada. A nor'easter is so named because the winds in a nor'easter come from the Ordinal direction, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada....
 when Moriches Inlet
Moriches Inlet

Moriches Inlet is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.It forms the eastern border of Fire Island, New York and the western border of the barrier island on which West Hampton Dunes, New York is the closest community....
 broke through. Moriches Inlet and efforts by local communities east of Fire Island to protect their beach front with jetties
Groyne

A groyne is a rigid hydraulic structure built from an ocean shore or from a bank that interrupts water flow and limits the movement of sediment....
 have led to an interruption in the longshore drift
Longshore drift

Longshore drift is a geology process by which sediments such as sand or other materials, move along a beach shore. It uses the process of swash to push the material up the beach and backwash down the beach; until it reaches a groyne or another obstacle....
 of sand going from east to west and is blamed for erosion of the Fire Island beachfront. Between these major breaks there have been reports over the years of at least six inlet
Inlet

An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a Sound , bay , lagoon or marsh....
s that broke through the island but have since disappeared.

Origin of name

The origin of Fire Island's name is not certain. It is believed its Native American name was Sictem Hackey, which translated to "Land of the Secatogues". The Secatogues were a tribe in the Bay Shore, New York
Bay Shore, New York

Bay Shore is a hamlet , located in the Political subdivisions of New York State#Town of Islip , New York, Political subdivisions of New York State#county of Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States....
, area. It was part of what was also called the "Seal Islands."

Historian Richard Bayles suggested that the name Fire derives from a misinterpretation or corruption of the Dutch
Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
 word "vijf" ("five") or in another version "vier" ("four") referring to the number of islands near the Fire Island inlet.

At times histories have referred to it in the plural, as "Fire Islands", because of the inlet breaks.

Other versions say the island derived its name from fires built on the sea's edge by Native Americans or by pirates to lure unsuspecting ships into the sandbars. Some say it is how portions of the island look to be on fire from sea in the Autumn. Yet another version says it comes from the rash caused by poison ivy
Poison ivy

Toxicodendron radicans is a plant in the family Anacardiaceae. The name is sometimes spelled "Poison-ivy" in an attempt to indicate that the plant is not a true Ivy ....
 on the island.

The name of Fire Island first appeared on a deed in 1789.

While the western portion of the island was referred to as Fire Island for many years, the eastern portion was referred to as Great South Beach until 1920, when widespread development of the island caused the whole island to be referred to as Fire Island.

Settlement

William "Tangier" Smith held title to the entire island in the 1600s, under a royal patent from Thomas Dongan. The remnants of Smith's Manor of St. George are open to the public in Shirley, New York
Shirley, New York

Shirley is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, Shirley population was 26,395....
.

  • The first large house was built in 1795 in Cherry Grove by Jeremiah Smith. Smith was said to have lured ships to their doom and killed the crews.
  • In the early 1800s, when slavery
    Slavery

    Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
     was still legal in New York, slave runners built stockades on the island by the Fire Island Inlet.
  • The first Fire Island Lighthouse was built in 1825 and was replaced by the current lighthouse in 1858.
  • In 1855, David S.S. Sammis bought near the Fire Island Lighthouse and built the Surf Hotel at what today is Kismet. Sammis operated the hotel until 1892, when the state took it over. In 1908, it became the first state park on Long Island.
  • In 1868, Archer and Elizabeth Perkinson bought the land around Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. They built a hotel in 1880.
  • In 1887, the Coast Guard established 11 manned lifesaving stations on the island.
  • In 1892, troops were called out to suppress a potential riot at Democrat Point over a .
  • In 1908, Ocean Beach was established, followed by Saltaire in 1910.
  • In 1921, the Perkinsons sold the land around Cherry Grove in small lots. Bungalows from the newly closed Camp Upton
    Camp Upton

    Camp Upton was an List of United States Army installations of the United States Army located in Yaphank, New York on Long Island, New York in Suffolk County, New York....
     in Yaphank, New York
    Yaphank, New York

    Yaphank is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. The population was 5,025 at the 2000 census.Yaphank is a community in the south part of the Brookhaven, New York....
     were ferried over the Great South Bay to build the new community. Duffy's Hotel was built in 1930.
  • The Great Hurricane of 1938 devastated much of the island and made it appear undesirable to many. However, Duffy's Hotel remained relatively undamaged. According to legend, the gay population began to concentrate in Cherry Grove at Duffy's Hotel with Christopher Isherwood
    Christopher Isherwood

    Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an Anglo-American novelist....
     and W. H. Auden
    W. H. Auden

    Wystan Hugh Auden who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century....
     dressed as Dionysus
    Dionysus

    In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos , is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated Dionysus as a late arrival....
     and Ganymede
    Ganymede (mythology)

    In Greek mythology, Ganymede, or Ganymedes is a divine hero whose homeland was the Troad. He was a Troy prince, son of the eponym Tros of Dardania, and of Callirrhoe , and brother of Ilus and Assaracus....
     and carried aloft on a gilded litter by a group of singing followers. The gay influence was continued in the 1960s when male model John B. Whyte
    John B. Whyte

    John Burlingame Whyte was a real-estate investor who developed Fire Island Pines, New York....
     developed Fire Island Pines. The Pines currently has some of the most expensive property on the island and accounts for two-thirds of the island's swimming pools.
  • In 1954, Robert Moses
    Robert Moses

    Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second French Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of urban planning in the United States....
     built the Captree Causeway to the western end of the island. Opponents, fearing that this was the beginning of plans for the continuation of Ocean Parkway, which would have run down the middle of the island, organized and eventually stopped the Parkway.
  • In September 1964, Lyndon Johnson signed the bill creating Fire Island National Seashore.


Landmarks and preserves

Except for the western 4˝ miles (7.5 km) of the island, the island is protected as part of Fire Island National Seashore
Fire Island National Seashore

Fire Island National Seashore is a United States National Seashore that protects a 26 mile section of Fire Island, New York, an approximately 30 mile long barrier island separated from Long Island by the Great South Bay....
. Robert Moses State Park, occupying the remaining western portion of the island, is one of the popular recreational destinations in the New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 area. The Fire Island Light stands just east of Robert Moses State Park.

A memorial to TWA 800
TWA Flight 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 was a scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, Italy, via Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France....
 is located on the eastern end at Smith Point County Park
Smith Point County Park

Smith Point County Park is a park on the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, New York, United States, in central Long Island by Shirley, New York that is largest park owned by Suffolk County, New York....
 near where it crashed.

Inhabitants

The incorporated villages of Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach, New York

The Village of Ocean Beach is in the south part of the Islip, New York on Fire Island, New York in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is considered a more popular tourist location, due to its increased number of stores and restaurants among other communities....
 and Saltaire
Saltaire, New York

Saltaire is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. Founded in 1910. The population was 43 at the 2000 census....
 within Fire Island National Seashore are car-free during the summer tourist season (Memorial Day
Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May . Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S....
 through Labor Day
Labor Day

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September . The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union sought to create "a day off for the working citizens"....
) 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. The hamlet of Davis Park
Davis Park, New York

Davis Park is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet on Fire Island, New York in the Brookhaven, New York in Suffolk County, New York, New York, off of the South Shore of Long Island....
 allows no vehicles or bicycles year-round. Fire Island also contains a number of unincorporated villages (hamlets
Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural Human settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community....
). Two of these hamlets, known as the Fire Island Pines
Fire Island Pines, New York

Fire Island Pines is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in the Brookhaven, New York, Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States....
 and Cherry Grove
Cherry Grove, New York

Cherry Grove is an unincorporated Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in the Brookhaven, New York, Suffolk County, New York, New York....
, have a reputation as being popular destinations for LGBT
LGBT

LGBT is an acronym and initialism referring collectively to Lesbian,Gay, Bisexuality, and Transgender people. In use since the 1990s, the term ?LGBT? is an adaptation of the initialism ?LGBT? which itself started replacing the phrase ?gay community? which many within LGBT communities felt did not represent accurately all those to which it...
 vacationers.

Beach erosion
Coastal erosion

Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land or the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, Tide, wave currents, or drainage . Waves, generated by storms, wind, or fast moving motor craft, cause coastal erosion, which may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and Rock , or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sed...
, 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 .

The avant-garde American poet Frank O'Hara
Frank O'Hara

Francis Russell O'Hara was an Poetry of the United States who, along with John Ashbery, James Schuyler, Barbara Guest and Kenneth Koch, was a key member of what was known as the New York School of poetry....
 was struck and injured by a beach buggy on the early morning of July 24, 1966, and died the following day.

Demographics

As of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2000, there were 491 people, 138 households, and 77 families residing on Fire Island (which includes many other communities besides Cherry Grove). The population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
 was 52.82/mi˛ (21.82/km˛). There were 4,153 housing units, at an average density of 478.1/mi˛ (184.6/km˛). The racial makeup of the town was 96.77% White, 0.65% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.90% of the population.

There were 138 households on Fire Island, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
 living together, 2.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.2% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.90.

Fire Island's population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 133.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 143.6 males.

In popular culture

The song "Come to Me
Come to Me (France Joli song)

"Come to Me" is a song by France Joli, released in 1979 from her Come to Me on the Unidisc label. "Come to Me" hit #1 on the US Dance chart in 1979....
" has been described as "the definitive Fire Island dance classic" because of the legendary beach concert performance by the 16-year-old France Joli
France Joli

France Joli is a Canada singer , best known for Dance-pop, Urban contemporary and Hi-NRG hits.Her first single was "Come to Me," and it hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1979....
 before an oceanfront Fire Island audience of 5000 on July 7, 1979. When Donna Summer
Donna Summer

Donna Summer is an United States singer-songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of music.Summer was trained as a gospel music singer prior to her introduction to the music industry....
 was a last-minute cancellation, Joli stepped in as a replacement and became an overnight sensation, with her "Come to Me" single climbing into Billboard
Billboard

Billboard is a weekly United States magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized Record chart that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis....
s Top 20 during the following months.

When Ocean Meets Sky, a 2003 documentary detailing the 50-year history of the Fire Island Pines community, had its television premiere on June 10, 2006. The film includes much previously unseen archival footage, but unfortunately the famed 1979 performance of vocalist France Joli is presented only in still photographs with music background, suggesting no footage of that well-remembered event exists. The film does include interviews with several who still regard Joli's performance in awe. Frank Perry's Last Summer
Last Summer

Last Summer is a 1969 coming-of-age movie about adolescent sexuality. Director Frank Perry filmed at Fire Island, New York locations with a cast of Catherine Burns, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison and Richard Thomas ....
 (1969), adapted by Eleanor Perry from Evan Hunter's novel about a summer of sexual discovery on Fire Island, brought an Oscar nomination for actress Catherine Burns
Catherine Burns

Catherine Burns is an United States actress.Born in New York City, Burns attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her Broadway theatre debut in 1968 in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie....
. Garbo Talks
Garbo Talks

Garbo Talks is a 1984 in film film directed by Sidney Lumet. The movie stars Anne Bancroft as a terminally ill woman who asks her son, Gilbert, to help her fulfill her last wish: to meet Greta Garbo....
 (1984) has scenes of the Fire Island ferry. Longtime Companion
Longtime Companion

Longtime Companion is a 1990 in film film with Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy , and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS, the film takes its title from the words The New York Times used to describe the surviving same-sex partner of someone who had died of AIDS....
 (1990) is a drama that recreates chronologically the spread of AIDS
AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
 during the 1980s. Returning Mickey Stern
Returning Mickey Stern

Returning Mickey Stern is a 2003 in film comedy film written and directed by Michael Prywes. It stars Joseph Bologna, Tom Bosley, Renee Taylor, and Connie Stevens and was shot almost entirely on Fire Island, New York, off the coast of Long Island, NY....
 (2003) was shot almost entirely in Seaview and Ocean Beach; the entire cast and crew were housed on Fire Island.

The Post Office scene in Men in Black II
Men in Black II

Men in Black II is a 2002 in film science fiction comedy film action film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The movie also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn....
 was shot outside the Fire Island Lighthouse. The mockumentary Beach Comber was filmed on Fire Island in 2004. ABC's reality show One Ocean View
One Ocean View

One Ocean View is an United States primetime reality show about eleven single New Yorkers looking for romance on Fire Island, New York. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central, and Canadian Television at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on Monday, July 31, 2006....
 (2006) was shot on Fire Island. Fire Island is also the setting of Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally is an United States playwright, considered one of the leading American dramatists still writing today. In addition to four Tony Awards, McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Foundation, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters....
's play Lips Together, Teeth Apart
Lips Together, Teeth Apart

Lips Together, Teeth Apart is a play by Terrence McNally.A gay community in Fire Island provides an unlikely setting for two straight couples spending the Fourth of July weekend in a house inherited by Sally from her brother who died of AIDS....
.

The 1977 Judas Priest
Judas Priest

Judas Priest is an England Heavy metal music band formed in 1969 in Birmingham. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K....
 song "Raw Deal" has the line, "A couple cards played rough stuff, New York, Fire Island". Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly

Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh....
's 1997 song "Pretty Deep" has the line, "Remember when we all went out to Fire Island / You thought you saw a body on the beach / When we got closer it was just a tire". The song "Gay Messiah" on the 2004 album Want Two
Want Two

Want Two is the fourth studio album by American-Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. The album was released on November 16, 2004. Four of the tracks on this album were released in the summer of 2004 as the extended play Waiting for a Want on the iTunes music store....
 by Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is a Grammy-nominated, Canadian-American singer-songwriter. He has recorded five albums of original music, several extended play, and numerous tracks included on Compilation album and film soundtracks....
 makes a reference to the popularity of Fire Island for gay and lesbian tourists, remarking that when the "gay messiah" comes, "He will fall from the star / of Studio 54
Studio 54

Studio 54 is a New York City Broadway theater and former discoth?que located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. The disco opened on April 26, 1977 and closed in March 1986 and briefly reopened in 1994 after a multi-million dollar renovation....
 / and appear on the sand / of Fire Island's shore". The 2003 album Welcome Interstate Managers
Welcome Interstate Managers

Welcome Interstate Managers is an album by Fountains of Wayne. It was released on June 10, 2003, and includes the hit song "Stacy's Mom", which garnered significant airplay in 2003....
 by Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band formed in 1996 and known for such singles as "Radiation Vibe" and "Stacy's Mom"....
 featured the song "Fire Island" about two siblings' home-alone shenanigans while their parents vacation on the island.

The Village People
Village People

Village People are a concept disco group formed in the late 1970s. The group is well known for their on-stage costumes as for their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
 included a song titled "Fire Island" on their 1977 debut album, Village People
Village People (album)

Village People is the debut album by the Village People, released in 1977. Its hit song "San Francisco " was a top 50 hit in the UK, peaking at #45....
. In the song, they refer to the island as "a funky weekend" and mention several locations on the island such as the Ice Palace, the Monster, the Blue Whale, and the Sandpiper. The song also includes the warning "Don't go in the bushes" because "someone might grab ya" or "someone might stab ya."

In the 2008 movie, The Wackness
The Wackness

The Wackness is a Cinema of the United States drama film by Jonathan Levine and starring Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, and Olivia Thirlby....
, the Squires family have a beach house on Fire Island that is used in at least two scenes.

Fire Island is featured prominently in Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares

Ann Brashares is an United States writer of young adult fiction. She is best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books....
's 2008 novel The Last Summer (of You and Me)
The Last Summer (of You and Me)

The Last Summer is a novel by Ann Brashares. Her first novel for adults, and her first outside of her acclaimed The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, was released on June 6, 2007 by Riverhead Books....
, about two sisters and a friend who grow up together, vacationing on the island every summer.

Fire Island is repeatedly referenced on the NBC sitcom Will and Grace. Many references are made to the adventures had by Will Truman
Will Truman

William "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the United States sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer living in New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler....
 and Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland

John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the United States television series sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes . Based on South London born Greg Basquine who caught the eye of the writers whilst shopping for make up at Mac in Oxford Street....
 during their vacations on Fire Island. The impression given in the references is that gay people are welcome and there is a loosening on one's inhibitions when there.

Fire Island is the location of Burt Hirschfeld's 1970s best-selling novel entitled "Fire Island". It is the story of some show-business and television people who spend their summers among with their families in the island. Through the story we have a most interesting presentation of the history of the island from the 1950s to 1970.

Locations


Following are the locations on the island from west to east.

Town of Babylon
Babylon (town), New York

The Political subdivisions of New York State of Babylon is located in southwestern Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 211,792....

  • Fire Island Inlet
    Fire Island Inlet

    Fire Island Inlet is an inlet on the south shore of Long Island, New York, USA. It connects the Great South Bay with the Atlantic Ocean, passing between Robert Moses State Park on the south and Oak Beach, New York and Captree State Park on the north....
  • Robert Moses State Park
    Robert Moses State Park

    Robert Moses State Park can refer to two state parks in New York:*Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, on the southern shore of Long Island...
     (part)


Town of Islip
Islip (town), New York

The Political subdivisions of New York State#Town of Islip is located in southern Suffolk County, New York, New York on the south shore of Long Island....

  • Atlantique
  • Atlantique Beach
  • Corneille Estates
  • Dunewood
    Dunewood, New York

    Dunewood is a small beach community in the western end of Fire Island, New York, New York State. With about 100 homes originally all build on an identical floor plan, some old-time residents would frequently refer to Dunewood as "Levittown on the bay." While the community specifically does not market itself to tourists and short-term rente...
  • Fair Harbor
    Fair Harbor, New York

    Fair Harbor is a community near the western end of Fire Island, New York. It is located in the Town of Islip on Long Island, New York, to which it pays taxes....
  • Fire Island Light
  • Fire Island Summer Club
  • Kismet
    Kismet, New York

    Kismet is an unincorporated Political_subdivisions_of_New_York_State#Hamlet in the town of Islip, New York, Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States....
  • Lonelyville
    Lonelyville, New York

    Lonelyville is a small beach community located in the western end of Fire Island, New York in the town of Islip , New York in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States....
  • Ocean Beach
    Ocean Beach, New York

    The Village of Ocean Beach is in the south part of the Islip, New York on Fire Island, New York in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is considered a more popular tourist location, due to its increased number of stores and restaurants among other communities....
     (village)
  • Robert Moses State Park
    Robert Moses State Park

    Robert Moses State Park can refer to two state parks in New York:*Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, on the southern shore of Long Island...
     (part)
  • Robbins Rest
  • Saltaire
    Saltaire, New York

    Saltaire is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States. Founded in 1910. The population was 43 at the 2000 census....
     (village)
  • Seabay Beach
  • Seaview


Town of Brookhaven
Brookhaven, New York

The Town of Brookhaven is located in central Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States, and stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island....


  • Bellport Beach
  • Blue Point Beach
  • Cherry Grove
    Cherry Grove, New York

    Cherry Grove is an unincorporated Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in the Brookhaven, New York, Suffolk County, New York, New York....
  • Davis Park
    Davis Park, New York

    Davis Park is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet on Fire Island, New York in the Brookhaven, New York in Suffolk County, New York, New York, off of the South Shore of Long Island....
  • Fire Island Pines
    Fire Island Pines, New York

    Fire Island Pines is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in the Brookhaven, New York, Suffolk County, New York, New York, United States....
  • Moriches Inlet
    Moriches Inlet

    Moriches Inlet is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.It forms the eastern border of Fire Island, New York and the western border of the barrier island on which West Hampton Dunes, New York is the closest community....
  • Oakleyville
  • Ocean Bay Park
    Ocean Bay Park, New York

    Ocean Bay Park is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in the Brookhaven, New York in Suffolk County, New York, New York, on Fire Island, New York....
  • Otis Pike Wilderness
  • Point O'Woods
  • Smith Point County Park
    Smith Point County Park

    Smith Point County Park is a park on the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, New York, United States, in central Long Island by Shirley, New York that is largest park owned by Suffolk County, New York....
  • Sunken Forest
  • Talisman/Barrett Beach
  • Watch Hill
    Watch Hill, New York

    Watch Hill is located on the western edge of the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness, across the Great South Bay from Patchogue, Long Island....
     - National Park Service facility in the central part of the island, including a public marina, camp ground visitor center, and nature trail.
  • Water Island
    Water Island, New York

    Water Island is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, New York, on Fire Island, New York.Water Island is part of the Brookhaven, New York....


Other small islands around Fire Island

The following are associated islands in the Fire Island National Seashore Jurisdiction, from west to east:
  • Sexton Island – A small island across from the Fire Island Lighthouse with approximately 20 small, private, summer houses. There is no ferry service nor electrical service.
  • West Fire Island – A small island with about a dozen houses. It has no telephone or electrical service.
  • East Fire Island – Another longer and larger island next to West Fire Island, this island, unlike West Fire Island, is uninhabited. People are allowed, although there is no ferry service, so the only way to get there is on your own boat.
  • Ridge Island
  • Pelican Island
  • John Boyle Island
  • Hospital Island


Other locations

  • Clam Pond
    Clam Pond

    Clam Pond, also known as Clam Cove, is a small cove in the Great South Bay, on the north side of Fire Island, New York in Suffolk County, New York....
     – A small cove between Saltaire and Fair Harbor


Famous summer residents

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

  • Louis Alter
    Louis Alter

    Louis Alter was an United States piano, songwriter and composer. Alter was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Stuart Mason....
    , songwriter ("Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
    Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans

    Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans is a song written by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter, which was first heard in the movie New Orleans in 1947, where it was performed by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billie Holiday....
    ")
  • Anne Bancroft
    Anne Bancroft

    Anne Bancroft was an United States actress associated with the Method acting school of acting....
    , actress
  • Gary Beach
    Gary Beach

    Gary Beach is an United States actor, primarily in Broadway theatre musical theatre....
    , Tony award winning actor
  • Ann Brashares
    Ann Brashares

    Ann Brashares is an United States writer of young adult fiction. She is best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books....
    , author of     The Last Summer (of You and Me), set on Fire Island
  • Mel Brooks
    Mel Brooks

    Mel Brooks is an United States film director, writer, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and Film producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parody....
    , actor, writer, director
  • Robert John Burke
    Robert John Burke

    Robert John Burke is an American actor....
    ,     Robocop 3
  • Truman Capote
    Truman Capote

    Truman Capote was an United States writer whose short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "non-fiction novel"....
    , author
  • Liz Claiborne, fashion designer
  • Claudette Colbert
    Claudette Colbert

    Claudette Colbert was a French-born American stage and film actress.Born in Saint-Mand?, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway theater productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures....
    , actress
  • Paulette Cooper
    Paulette Cooper

    Paulette Marcia Cooper is an American author who is best known for activism against the Scientology and the harassment she suffered as a result....
    , author
  • Mart Crowley
    Mart Crowley

    Mart Crowley is an United States playwright.Crowley was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After graduating from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C....
    , playwright
  • Adam Curry
    Adam Curry

    Adam Clark Curry is a broadcasting and Internet personality well known for his stint from 1987 to 1994 as a video jockey on the music video channel MTV....
    , The Podfather
  • Mark Doty
    Mark Doty

    Mark Doty is a National Book Award winning, United States of America poet and memoirist. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, then received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont....
    , poet, non-fiction writer
  • David Duchovny
    David Duchovny

    David William Duchovny is a two-time Golden Globe Award-winning United States actor, best known for his roles as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication ....
    , actor
  • Peggy Fears
    Peggy Fears

    Peggy Fears was an United Statesn actress, who appeared in Broadway theatre musical comedy during the 1920s and 1930s before becoming a Broadway producer....
    , Broadway performer
  • Tina Fey
    Tina Fey

    Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an United States writer, comedian, actor, and Television producer. She has won six Emmys, three Golden Globes, and three SAG Awards....
    , comedy writer and actress,     30 Rock
    30 Rock

    30 Rock is an United States television comedy series created by Tina Fey that currently airs on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the GE Building where NBC Studios is located and which has the address "30 Rockefeller Pla...
  • Peter Greenberg
    Peter Greenberg

    Peter S. Greenberg is perhaps best known as the Travel Editor for NBC's Today , but is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer in his own right....
    , TV travel authority
  • Rex Harrison
    Rex Harrison

    Sir Reginald ?Rex? Carey Harrison was an England actor of theatre and film, who won both an Academy Award and Tony Award....
    , actor
  • Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke

    Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and film director. He landed his first feature role in the movie Explorers in 1985 opposite River Phoenix....
    , actor, novelist
  • Nat Hentoff
    Nat Hentoff

    Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an United States historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
    , columnist, jazz critic
  • France Joli
    France Joli

    France Joli is a Canada singer , best known for Dance-pop, Urban contemporary and Hi-NRG hits.Her first single was "Come to Me," and it hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1979....
    , vocalist whose performance at age 16 during the July 1979 oceanfront party catapulted her career
  • Harvey Keitel
    Harvey Keitel

    Harvey Keitel is an Academy Award-nominated American actor whose latest work is that of Detective Lieutenant Gene Hunt on ABC's crime drama "Life on Mars "....
    , actor
  • Paul Krassner
    Paul Krassner

    Paul Krassner is an author, journalist, stand-up comedian, and the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958....
    , author, editor
  • Carson Kressley
    Carson Kressley

    Carson Lee Kressley was the fashion expert on the United States television program Queer Eye, where he was one of the show's "Fab Five" members....
    , TV fashion authority
  • Will Leitch
    Will Leitch

    'William F. Leitch' is a writer based in New York City and the founding editor of the Gawker Media sports blog Deadspin. Leitch is a contributing editor at New York , a contributor to The New York Times, GQ, Fast Company and Slate , and has published three books, Catch, a novel, Life as a Loser, a memoir, and God...
    , author
  • Harding Lemay, playwright and TV headwriter, who scripted Another World
    Another World (TV series)

    Another World is a television soap opera that ran on the NBC network from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It was created by legendary serial creator Irna Phillips along with William J....
     on Fire Island
  • Albert Lepage, Lepage Bakeries in Auburn, Maine
    Auburn, Maine

    Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, Maine, United States. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area ....
  • Mary Martin
    Mary Martin

    Mary Virginia Martin was an Tony Award and Emmy Award winning actress. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music....
    , Broadway performer
  • Malachy McCourt
    Malachy McCourt

    Malachy Gerard McCourt is an Irish-American actor, writer and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic Party candidate Eliot Spitzer....
    , playwright/actor whose memoir     A Monk Swimming
    A Monk Swimming

    A Monk Swimming is a memoir by Malachy McCourt. It is about McCourt's life in Limerick, Ireland and what he experienced when he came to United States....
     includes his Fire Island visits
  • Joe Namath
    Joe Namath

    Joseph William Namath , also known as Broadway Joe or Joe Willie, is a former United States American football quarterback. He played for the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962?1964, and in the American Football League and National Football League duri...
    , football player
  • Kevin Nash
    Kevin Nash

    Kevin Scott Nash is an United States professional wrestling and actor. Nash has wrestled under various ring names for World Championship Wrestling and wrestled famously as Diesel in World Wrestling Entertainment ....
    , professional wrestler
  • Pola Negri
    Pola Negri

    Pola Negri was a Poland film actress who achieved notoriety as a femme fatale in silent films between 1910s and 1930s.Personal life...
    , silent film actress
  • Frank O'Hara
    Frank O'Hara

    Francis Russell O'Hara was an Poetry of the United States who, along with John Ashbery, James Schuyler, Barbara Guest and Kenneth Koch, was a key member of what was known as the New York School of poetry....
    , poet, died after being struck by a speeding beach buggy on the island
  • Tony Randall
    Tony Randall

    Tony Randall was an American comic and actor....
    , actor
  • John C. Reilly
    John C. Reilly

    John Christopher Reilly is an Academy Award-, Grammy-, and two-time Golden Globe-nominated United States actor....
    , actor
  • Carl Reiner
    Carl Reiner

    Carl Reiner is an United States actor, film director, television producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards during his career....
    , actor
  • Tony Roberts
    Tony Roberts

    Tony Roberts could mean:*Tony Roberts , American actor in Woody Allen films*Tony Roberts , large-scale works in fused glass and metals*Tony Roberts , British author of the Casca series from 2006 onwards...
    , actor
  • Ally Sheedy
    Ally Sheedy

    Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an United States Cinema of the United States and Theatre in the United States actor, as well as the author of two books....
    , actress
  • Tedi Thurman
    Tedi Thurman

    Tedi Thurman was a fashion model and actress best known for her appearances as Miss Monitor on NBC's Monitor , programmed by Pat Weaver as an innovative 40-hour weekend radio show....
    , Miss Monitor
    Monitor (NBC Radio)

    NBC Monitor was a weekend radio program broadcast which ran from June 12, 1955 in radio until January 26, 1975 in radio. Airing live and nationwide on NBC Radio, originally beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until midnight on Sunday, it offered a magazine-of-the-air mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, musi...
  • Uma Thurman
    Uma Thurman

    Uma Karuna Thurman Hawke , better known as Uma Thurman, is an American actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedy film and dramas to science fiction film and Action movie Thriller s....
    , actress
  • Stanley Tucci
    Stanley Tucci

    Stanley Tucci, Jr. is an American Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning, Screen Actors Guild- and Tony Award-nominated actor, writer, film producer and film director....
    , actor
  • Herman Wouk
    Herman Wouk

    Herman Wouk is a bestselling United States author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance....
    , pulitzer prize novelist
  • Jeffrey Zeldman
    Jeffrey Zeldman

    File:Jeffrey Zeldman @ SXSW March 2008, squared.jpegJeffrey Zeldman is a lecturer and author on web design. He also runs his own web design studio, Happy Cog, and has maintained a weblog, Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report, on the topic since 1995....
    , web guru


See also

  • Jones Beach Island
    Jones Beach Island

    Jones Beach Island is a barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones ....


External links

by Ralph Blumenthal (New York Times, August 2, 1996) Fire Island Fire Island Fire Island Fire Island