Fire Island, New York
Encyclopedia
Outer barrier
The outer barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island from the Atlantic Ocean....
s adjacent to the south shore of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York. It is approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) long and varies between 160 metre broad. Fire Island is part of Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
. It comprises a number of hamlets, census-designated places (CDPs), and villages, all of which lie within the towns of Islip
Islip (town), New York
The Town of Islip is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on the south shore of Long Island, the town population was 322,612 at the 2000 census. The smaller, unincorporated hamlet of Islip lies within the town.-Demographics:...
, Brookhaven
Brookhaven
Brookhaven may refer to:Places in the United States:*Brookhaven, Georgia, a community just north of Atlanta**Brookhaven/Oglethorpe , a passenger rail station in Brookhaven, Georgia*Brookhaven, Mississippi...
and Babylon
Babylon (town), New York
The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on Long Island, the town population was 211,792 as of the 2000 census. There is also a Village of Babylon located within the town. It borders Nassau County to the West, and the Atlantic Ocean to the South...
.
The land area of Fire Island is 22.5 square kilometres (8.7 sq mi). According to the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the 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 enumerated during the 1990 Census...
there is a permanent population of 491, expanding to hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists during the summer months.
Geography
Great South Bay
Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is approximately long. It's protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Island, a barrier island, as well as the eastern end of Jones Beach Island and Captree Island.Robert Moses Causeway adjoins...
, 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 and Howells Point, and across which ferries run south to Fire Island.The Patchogue Bay bay bottom up to...
, Bellport Bay, Narrow Bay, and Moriches Bay
Moriches Bay
Moriches Bay a lagoon system on the south shore of Long Island. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck.Two Townships both Brookhaven and the Southampton share Its shoreline in Suffolk New York....
. The island is accessible by automobile via 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 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. It is...
on its western end 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. 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 and Wading River...
) near its eastern end. Motor vehicles are not permitted on the rest of the Island, except for utility, construction and emergency access and with limited beach driving permits in winter. The island and its resort towns are accessible by boat, seaplane and a number of ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, which depart from both Bay Shore
Bay Shore, New York
Bay Shore is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, USA. It is situated on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. Bay Shore celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. The population of the CDP was 23,852 at the time of...
and Sayville
Sayville, New York
Sayville is a hamlet and CDP in Suffolk County, New York, . Located on the south shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,735 at the time of the 2000 census.-History:...
.
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 22.64 km2 (8.742 mi2), which includes 0.1415 km2 of water.
2009 beach renourishment
In the winter and spring of 2009, a beach renourishment project was undertaken on Fire Island, with the cooperation of the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Towns of Brookhaven and Islip and Fire Island residents. The renourishment program involved dredging sand from an offshore borrow area, pumping it onto the beach and shaping the sand into an approved beach face and dune template in front of the communities of Corneille Estates, Davis Park, Dunewood, Fair Harbor, Fire Island Pines, Fire Island Summer Club, Lonelyville, Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Saltaire, and Seaview. Fire Islanders agreed to a significant property tax increase to help pay for the project, which was estimated to cost between $23 and $25 million, including the cost of environmental monitoring, and was expected to add 1800000 cubic yards (1,376,198.7 m³) of sand in front of the participating communities. The Towns of Brookhaven and Islip, in which the communities are located, issued bonds to pay for the project, backed by the new taxes levied by community Erosion Control Taxing Districts.History
Geographical history
The physical attributes of the island have changed over time and it continues to change. At one point it stretched more than 60 miles (96.6 km) from Jones Beach IslandJones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamous Oak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long...
to Southampton
Southampton (village), New York
Southampton is a village in Suffolk County, New York, USA. The village is named after the Earl of Southampton. The Village of Southampton is in the southeast part of the county in the Town 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 and Captree State Park on the north.The inlet is directly south of West Islip, the nearest...
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 was built in 1858, 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 type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, 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. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck....
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. In the ocean, groynes create beaches, or avoid having them washed away by longshore drift. In a river, groynes prevent erosion and ice-jamming, which...
have led to an interruption in the longshore drift
Longshore drift
Longshore drift consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash. This process occurs in the littoral zone, and in or within close proximity to the surf zone...
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. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
s that broke through the island but have since disappeared.
Etymology
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 YorkBay Shore, New York
Bay Shore is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, USA. It is situated on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. Bay Shore celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. The population of the CDP was 23,852 at the time of...
, area. It was part of what was also called the "Seal Islands."
Historian Richard Bayles suggested that the name derives from a misinterpretation or corruption of the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
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 autumn. Yet another version says it comes from the rash caused by poison ivy
Poison ivy
Toxicodendron radicans, better known as poison ivy , is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound found within the sap of the plant that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it...
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 caused the whole land mass to be called Fire Island.
Settlement
William "Tangier" Smith held title to the entire island in the 17th century, under a royal patent from Thomas Dongan. The remnants of Smith's Manor of St. George are open to the public in Shirley, New YorkShirley, New York
Shirley is a hamlet in Suffolk County, 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 19th century when slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
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 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) 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 cholera panic.
- 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 UptonCamp UptonCamp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
in Yaphank, New YorkYaphank, New YorkYaphank is a census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,025 at the 2000 census.Yaphank is a community in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven...
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 IsherwoodChristopher IsherwoodChristopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
and W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
dressed as DionysusDionysusDionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
and GanymedeGanymede (mythology)In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...
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. WhyteJohn B. WhyteJohn Burlingame Whyte was a real-estate investor who developed Fire Island Pines, New York.-Biography:Whyte was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Washington University in St...
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 1964, Robert MosesRobert MosesRobert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
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 a bill creating Fire Island National Seashore.
Landmarks and preserves
Except for the western 4½ miles (7.5 km) of the island, the island is protected as part of Fire Island National SeashoreFire Island National Seashore
Fire Island National Seashore is a United States National Seashore that protects a section of Fire Island, an approximately long barrier island separated from Long Island by the Great South Bay....
. Robert Moses State Park
Robert Moses State Park (Long Island)
Robert Moses State Park - Long Island is a state park that is located in the state of New York.The park lies in southern Suffolk County on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier Islands off the southern coast of Long Island...
, occupying the remaining western portion of the island, is one of the popular recreational destinations in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area. The Fire Island Light stands just east of Robert Moses State Park.
- A memorial to TWA 800TWA Flight 800Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
is located on the eastern end at Smith Point County ParkSmith Point County ParkSmith Point County Park is a park located fronting on the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, New York, United States, in central Long Island by Shirley. It is the largest park owned by Suffolk County, New York....
near where it crashed.
Inhabitants
The incorporated villages of Ocean BeachOcean Beach, New York
Ocean Beach is a village in the southern part of the Town of Islip, on Fire Island, within Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is a popular tourist location, due to its popular nightlife and variety of stores and restaurants.-History:...
and Saltaire
Saltaire, New York
Saltaire is a village on Fire Island in the southern part of the town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The year-round population was 43 at the 2000 census, which, as a summer beach community, increases many times over in the summer.- History :Incorporated in 1910.In early 2009...
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 originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
through Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
) 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 hamlet on Fire Island in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, off the South Shore of Long Island. It lies within the Fire Island National Seashore. Davis Park is commonly used to refer to the older part of the community west of Trustees' Walk, in contrast to the...
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 settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
). Two of these hamlets, known as the Fire Island Pines
Fire Island Pines, New York
Fire Island Pines is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States...
and Cherry Grove
Cherry Grove, New York
Cherry Grove is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island separated from the southern side of Long Island by the Great South Bay...
, are popular destinations for LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
vacationers.
Beach erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
, largely due to construction of jetties at the Moriches Inlet, opened naturally by a storm in 1931 and widened September 21, 1938, is described in a report on the geological effects of the Hurricane of 1938.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 491 people, 138 households, and 77 families residing on Fire Island. 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/mi2 (21.82/km2). There were 4,153 housing units, at an average density of 478.1/mi2 (184.6/km2). 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 Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 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 union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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.
The median income for a household on Fire Island was $73,281, and the median income for a family was $83,672. Males had a median income of $46,875 versus $41,429 for females. The per capita income for Fire Island was $43,681. 0.0% of families and 3.1% of individuals were below the poverty line, including 0.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
In popular culture
A feature entitled "Shel SilversteinShel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
on Fire Island" appeared in the August 1965 Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine, with humorous quips about the gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
club scene there.
Frank Perry
Frank Perry
Frank J. Perry, Jr. was an American stage and film director, producer and screenwriter. His directorial debut, the 1962 film David and Lisa, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director....
's Last Summer
Last Summer
Last Summer is a 1969 coming-of-age movie about adolescent sexuality. Director Frank Perry filmed at Fire Island locations: the stars of the film are Catherine Burns, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison and Richard Thomas. The memorable performance by Burns brought her an Academy Award nomination for...
(1969), adapted by Eleanor Perry from Evan Hunter
Evan Hunter
Evan Hunter was an American author and screenwriter. Born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952...
'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 American actress of stage, film, radio and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Last Summer .-Career:...
. The American writer Patricia Nell Warren
Patricia Nell Warren
Patricia Nell Warren is an openly lesbian American author and journalist.-Biography:Primarily known as an author, Warren is also commonly known as "the mother of Frontrunners" - the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender running/walking clubs that have been started in Los Angeles and other large...
, known as "the mother of Frontrunners" — the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
running/walking clubs — locates parts of her 1974 best-selling novel The Front Runner
The Front Runner
The Front Runner is a 1974 novel by Patricia Nell Warren. The book, considered by some as a classic example of LGBT literature of the period, is a love story exploring issues relating to homosexuals in American sports....
, as well as of Harlan's Race, a 1994 sequel, on Fire Island.
The song "Come to Me
Come to Me (France Joli song)
"Come to Me" is a #1 disco hit from 1979 performed by France Joli, who had recorded it at the age of fifteen with producer Tony Green who composed the song and briefly sings on it. The track also features the famed Philadelphia session vocalists the Sweethearts of Sigma Sound...
" 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 Canadian singer, born 1963, who is best known for the disco classic "Come to Me."-Teen stardom:A native of Montreal, Quebec, Joli grew up in the Montreal suburb of Dorion...
before an oceanfront Fire Island audience of 5000 on July 7, 1979. When Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
cancelled at the last minute, Joli stepped in as a replacement and became an overnight sensation. The song "Gay Messiah" on the 2004 album Want Two
Want Two
Want Two is the fourth 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 EP Waiting for a Want on the iTunes music store.Want Two is, according to Wainwright, the...
by Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
makes a reference to the popularity of Fire Island for gay and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
tourists, remarking that when the "gay messiah" comes, "He will fall from the star / of Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
/ 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. The album's title was taken from a hotel marquee sign. The album includes the hit song "Stacy's Mom", which garnered significant airplay in 2003. "Mexican Wine" was the second single...
by Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...
featured the song "Fire Island" about two siblings' home-alone shenanigans while their parents vacation on the island.
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. The mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
Beach Comber was filmed on Fire Island in 2004. ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's reality show One Ocean View
One Ocean View
One Ocean View is an American primetime television reality show about eleven single New Yorkers looking for romance on Fire Island. It premiered on ABC at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central, and CTV at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm 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 American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
's play Lips Together, Teeth Apart
Lips Together, Teeth Apart
Lips Together, Teeth Apart is a 1991 play by American playwright Terrence McNally.-Plot: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. Through monologues...
.
The Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as 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 Village People, released on July 11, 1977. Its hit song "San Francisco " was a top 50 hit in the UK, peaking at #45.-History:...
. 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."
Fire Island is featured prominently in Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares is an American 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 Traveling Pants series, was released on June 6, 2007 by Riverhead Books.-Plot:...
, about two sisters and a friend who grow up together, vacationing on the island every summer. Fire Island serves dual meanings as both a vacation destination and a homoerotic
Homoeroticism
Homoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...
euphemism in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a 2004 collection of 22 autobiographical essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The essays address the author's upbringing in Raleigh, North Carolina, his relationships with family members, and his work and life in New York City and France.The...
by David Sedaris
David Sedaris
David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
. In the story "Blood Work," Sedaris describes an instance in which he is mistaken for an erotic housekeeper and his would-be john makes frequent and emphatic mention of FIRE ISLAND as a secret code. Fire Island is the location of Burt Hirschfeld's best-selling novel Fire Island. It is the story of some show-business and television people who spend their summers with their families on the island.
Fire Island is repeatedly referenced on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
. Many references are made to the adventures had by Will Truman
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
and Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
during their vacations there; the impression given in the references is that gay people are welcome and there is a loosening of one's inhibitions when there. On the NBC sitcom 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
, the island is referenced by Devon Banks (Will Arnett
Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
), a young gay executive who flirts with a gay shop employee and plans to rendezvous with him later on Fire Island. In season four, a charge read at a hearing states "in 2007, a [corporate] officer [Banks] used corporate funds to throw a Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
-themed Halloween party on Fire Island."
Town of Babylon
- Fire Island InletFire Island InletFire 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 and Captree State Park on the north.The inlet is directly south of West Islip, the nearest...
- Robert Moses State ParkRobert Moses State Park (Long Island)Robert Moses State Park - Long Island is a state park that is located in the state of New York.The park lies in southern Suffolk County on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier Islands off the southern coast of Long Island...
(part)
Town of Islip
- Atlantique
- Corneille Estates
- DunewoodDunewood, New YorkDunewood is a small beach community in the western end of Fire Island, New York State. With about 100 homes originally all built 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...
- Fair HarborFair Harbor, New YorkFair Harbor is a hamlet located near the western end of Fire Island. It is a part of the Town of Islip on Long Island, New York. Fair Harbor falls under the police jurisdiction of Suffolk County Marine Bureau and is protected by its own volunteer fire department, the Fair Harbor Fire Department,...
- Fire Island Light
- Fire Island Summer Club
- KismetKismet, New YorkKismet is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is the westernmost beach community on Fire Island, immediately west of Saltaire and east of the Fire Island Light...
- LonelyvilleLonelyville, New YorkLonelyville is a small beach community located in the western end of Fire Island in the town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States....
- Ocean BeachOcean Beach, New YorkOcean Beach is a village in the southern part of the Town of Islip, on Fire Island, within Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is a popular tourist location, due to its popular nightlife and variety of stores and restaurants.-History:...
(village) - Robert Moses State ParkRobert Moses State Park (Long Island)Robert Moses State Park - Long Island is a state park that is located in the state of New York.The park lies in southern Suffolk County on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier Islands off the southern coast of Long Island...
(part) - Robbins Rest
- SaltaireSaltaire, New YorkSaltaire is a village on Fire Island in the southern part of the town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The year-round population was 43 at the 2000 census, which, as a summer beach community, increases many times over in the summer.- History :Incorporated in 1910.In early 2009...
(village) - Seabay Beach
- Seaview
Town of Brookhaven
- Fire Island Wilderness
- Bellport Beach
- Blue Point Beach
- Cherry GroveCherry Grove, New YorkCherry Grove is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island separated from the southern side of Long Island by the Great South Bay...
- Davis Park/Ocean RidgeDavis Park, New YorkDavis Park is a hamlet on Fire Island in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, off the South Shore of Long Island. It lies within the Fire Island National Seashore. Davis Park is commonly used to refer to the older part of the community west of Trustees' Walk, in contrast to the...
- Fire Island PinesFire Island Pines, New YorkFire Island Pines is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States...
- Moriches InletMoriches InletMoriches Inlet is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck....
- Oakleyville
- Ocean Bay ParkOcean Bay Park, New YorkOcean Bay Park is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on Fire Island.The ZIP Code for Ocean Bay Park is 11770. To reach Ocean Bay Park, one must take a ferry or watertaxi from Maple Avenue, Bay Shore on the mainland....
- Otis Pike Wilderness
- Smith Point County ParkSmith Point County ParkSmith Point County Park is a park located fronting on the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, New York, United States, in central Long Island by Shirley. It is the largest park owned by Suffolk County, New York....
- Sunken Forest
- Talisman/Barrett Beach
- Watch HillWatch Hill, New YorkWatch 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. It is accessible by Watch Hill Ferry, private boat, and foot only. The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness contains a variety of barrier...
, National Park Service facility in the central part of the island, including a public marina, camp ground visitor center, and nature trail. - Water IslandWater Island, New YorkWater Island is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, on Fire Island.Water Island is part of the Town of Brookhaven.Water Island is a small, extremely private Fire Island beach community of about 50 houses on modest plots of Fire Island real estate...
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 IslandRidge IslandRidge Island is a ridge-shaped island, 6 nautical miles long and 1.5 nautical miles wide lying 3 nautical miles east of Pourquoi Pas Island in the center of Bourgeois Fjord, off the west coast of Graham Land. Discovered and named by the British Graham Land Expedition , 1934–37, under Rymill....
- Pelican Island
- John Boyle Island
- Hospital Island
Famous summer residents
After the Manhattan theater community began staying on Fire Island during the 1920s, the island had numerous summer celebrity residents.- Gary BeachGary BeachGary Beach is an American actor, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.-Biography:Beach was born in Alexandria, Virginia and later went on to graduate from the North Carolina School of the Arts, the same school as Terrence Mann, his Beauty and the Beast costar.Beach and his partner, Jeffrey...
, Tony award winning actor - Tina FeyTina FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
, creator of 30 Rock, stays during the summer at Fair Harbor and Ocean Beach. - Christopher Noth, known for his acting in Law and Order, stays in Ocean Beach in the summer.
- Josh Ocean, lead singer of the cult band TV/TV is a resident of Ocean Beach
- Actor Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
built a summer home in the Pines.