Heckscher State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

on the shore of the

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Is ...

at East Islip in Suffolk County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, USA.

History

The park includes that was once the 19th-century estates of George C. Taylor and J. Neal Plum.

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

's founder, William Nicoll, originally built his estate on this property. The Long Island State Park Commission, led by

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

, expropriated the property in 1924, an action found to be illegal by the state's highest court on the grounds that the law did not permit such expropriation when the Commission did not have the funds to pay for the property; however, in the meantime, the Commission had retained control of the property. Despite opposition from wealthy local residents, the parkland was finally purchased by

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

with the aid of a donation from

August Heckscher August Heckscher (August 26, 1848 – April 26, 1941) was a German-born American capitalist and philanthropist. Early life Heckscher was born in Hamburg, Germany. He was the son of Johann Gustav Heckscher (1797–1865) and Marie Antoinette Br ...

. The park officially opened in February 1929. Beginning in 1972 and continuing until 2008, the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

played at Heckscher State Park as part of its free "Concerts in the Parks" series. The annual event was held on summer evenings in an open field near the campground and was open to the public. In 2009, the New York Philharmonic chose to cancel the event for the summer of that year due to financial constraints. After one year without a concert at the park, the

Long Island Philharmonic The Long Island Philharmonic, based in Melville, New York was founded in 1979 by folk singer Harry Chapin, Maestro Christopher Keene, and a group of Long Island's community and business leaders. On February 8, 2016, an announcement was made th ...

was able to put on a successful performance in 2010. The new generation of concerts commenced with a theme of American composers, including

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, and

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

Park description

Heckscher offers a beach, picnic tables with pavilions, a playground, playing fields and a disc golf course, recreation programs, hiking and biking, fishing, cross-country skiing, a boat launch, and a food concession. It includes the Heckscher Forest, a dedicated

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course established in the summer of 2014. The park formerly offered a campground with tent and trailer sites, as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, which were closed due to budget cuts. Heckscher State Park is known as the "Home of the

White-tailed Deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

", as deer are fairly populous throughout the park. Additionally, about 280 bird species can be observed in the park. The park is accessible by the

Heckscher State Parkway The Heckscher State Parkway (formerly known as the Heckscher Spur) is an parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway is located entirely within the Suffolk County town of Islip. Although it officially begins at the ...

, and falls within the district protected by the Great River Fire Department. The Long Island Greenbelt Trail starts its route in Heckscher State Park. It ends in Sunken Meadow State Park.

References

External links

New York State Parks: Heckscher State Park

{{authority control State parks of New York (state) Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Islip (town), New York Robert Moses projects Parks in Suffolk County, New York 1929 establishments in New York (state) Protected areas established in 1929

History

Park description

See also

References

External links