Oak Beach is a small community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

located near the eastern end of

Jones 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. Etymology It is named for Major Thomas Jones, who first came to Long Island in 1692, where he proceeded to build the ...

, a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

between the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and 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 ...

of Long Island. The community is part of the village of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The eastern part, the Oak Island Beach Association, is gated, whereas the western part is not. The Oak Beach CDP was first listed prior to the 2020 census. Prior to that the community was part of the Oak Beach–Captree census-designated place.

History and amenities

Oak Beach has been inhabited since at least the first decade of the twentieth century, when a

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

lifesaving station was located there, although it could not be reached overland at that time. Prior to that, marsh bird hunters had kept shacks in the area. Ferry access from Babylon enabled cottages to be built and made more accessible by car after construction of Ocean Parkway; it was largely a summer community until the completion of the

Robert Moses Causeway The Robert Moses Causeway is an parkway in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. 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 I ...

in 1951, which allowed much faster travel from the main part of Long Island. It has gradually evolved since then to become a location where most residents live year-round. Although now entirely residential, Oak Beach was once the location of the popular but controversial

Oak Beach Inn The Oak Beach Inn, commonly referred to by the abbreviation OBI, was a Long Island nightclub located in Oak Beach, on Jones Beach Island near Captree State Park in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County, New York. History and controversy In 19 ...

, which was closed in 1999 and torn down in 2003, along with a small general store ("The Store") and bait/tackle/surf shop that closed a decade earlier. There is now a public park at the site. The "park" is unusual, in that it lacks any amenities other than a fishing dock and a single portable toilet. While the park encompasses over nine acres of land, there are but two trees and nearly 300 parking spots. In the warmer months the park - or rather the parking lot - collects an informal early Sunday morning motor rally, attracting local motorcycle and car enthusiasts.

Geography

Oak Beach is in southwestern Suffolk County, in the southeast part of the village of Babylon. The census-designated place includes the community of Oak Beach on Jones Beach Island, as well as the community of Oak Island, directly to the north. The CDP is bordered to the east by Captree State Park and to the west by Gilgo State Park. To the south is the west end of

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

Ownership

The land is not owned by the residents but is on long-term

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

from the Village of Babylon. In the early 1990s, New York State litigated against extension of the lease. After much negotiation, including detailed environmental impact statements, the lease was renewed (currently through 2050), although with a ramp up in costs. In 2012, the Village of Babylon agreed to extend the current leases through 2065.

Shannan Gilbert

On May 1, 2010, Shannan Gilbert disappeared after fleeing a client's house in the Oak Beach Association. In December 2010, while searching for Gilbert, the police found 10 dead bodies along the adjacent highway, some bodies in December 2010, others in April 2011. Consequently, the community attracted much public attention. In December 2011, the body of the original missing sex worker Shannan Gilbert was found in the marsh east of the community. On November 29, 2011, the police announced their belief that one person is responsible for all 10 deaths (whom the press refers to at various times as: "the

Long Island serial killer The Long Island serial killer (also referred to as LISK, the Gilgo Beach Killer, the Manorville Butcher, and the Craigslist Ripper) is an unidentified suspected serial killer who is believed to have murdered between 10 and 18 people over a p ...

", "LISK", "the Gilgo Beach Killer", or "the Craigslist Ripper"), and that they did not believe the case of Gilbert, who went missing before the first set of bodies was found, was related. "It is clear that the area in and around Gilgo Beach has been used to discard human remains for some period of time," said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. On December 10, 2015, Suffolk County Police announced that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

had officially joined the investigation. A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the announcement. The FBI had previously assisted in the search for victims, but was never officially part of the investigation until this announcement. The investigation is ongoing.

References

{{authority control Babylon (town), New York Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Geography of Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Census-designated places in New York (state)