Robert Moses State Park - Long Island 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 ...

in southern 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 * '' ...

. The park lies on the western 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 Long ...

, one of the central

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, 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 fro ...

s off the southern coast of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, and is known for its stretch of beaches on 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 ...

. The park is accessible from Long Island by 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 ...

across

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 ...

. Established as Fire Island State Park in 1908, the park is the oldest state park on Long Island. Its current name was given to honor

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 ...

, the influential mid-20th century urban planner and former president of the

Long Island State Park Commission The Long Island State Park Commission was created in 1924 by the New York State Legislature to build and operate parks and parkways on Long Island. Governor Al Smith was appointed as its first President, and Robert Moses, who had drafted the bill ...

. Recently, lawmakers have suggested the park should revert to its previous name or to something that better reflects its location.

Park description

Robert Moses State Park includes of beach, which visitors can use for swimming, surfing, or fishing. Anglers may fish from either the beach or the piers. A day use boat basin that can accommodate up to 40 boats is also available. Guests can also use the four bathhouses on the property. The park also contains four concession stands (one at each field), volleyball courts, first aid stations, picnic areas, and a playground at Field 5. On the west end of the park is an 18-hole

pitch and putt Pitch and putt is an amateur sport very similar to, and derived from, golf, where the hole length is typically up to and just 2–3 clubs are typically used. The game was organised and developed in Ireland during the early 20th century, befo ...

golf course. The secluded course is set among native trees and beach vegetation. It is typically open April through November and equipment rental is available. Robert Moses State Park also facilitates access to the

Fire Island National Seashore Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) is a United States National Seashore that protects a section of Fire Island, an approximately long and wide barrier island separated from Long Island by the Great South Bay. The island is part of New York S ...

, immediately east of the park. Since there is no parking at the Seashore itself, many visitors park at Field 5 in order to walk to

Lighthouse Beach Lighthouse Beach is a small section of the Fire Island National Seashore that is adjacent to Robert Moses State Park on New York's Long Island. It was notable for having sections that were officially designated as clothing optional prior to 2013 ...

, the Fire Island Lighthouse and Museum, or the nearby community of Kismet. In 2010, New York State officials estimated about 30% of the users of Field 5 park there to access Lighthouse Beach and the Lighthouse itself. Lighthouse Beach was historically a

clothing optional beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to u ...

; however, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

has enforced a ban on public nudity at Lighthouse Beach since 2013, citing concerns over increases in lewd behavior prior to the ban. Violators face a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and six months in prison.

Access and hours

The park is accessible by automobile from the

, which connects Fire Island with mainland Long Island. Parking is available in four separate fields. Parking fields 2, 4 and 5 have a capacity of roughly 1,000 vehicles while the capacity at Field 3 is 500. Suffolk Transit's S47 route also serves the beach seasonally connecting it with the

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

station on the

Babylon Branch The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The term refers to the trains serving Montauk Branch stations from Valley Stream east to Babylon; in other words, the Babylon Branch is ...

. The park is open year-round from sunrise to sunset, although hours for activities such as swimming and golfing vary by season. Portions of the park are open 24 hours a day to fishermen with the appropriate permit. Starting in early April, visitors are charged a fee for parking at the park. As of 2015, vehicle fees are $8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends from mid-April until Memorial Day, after which a $10 fee is charged from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays, and a $10 fee is charged on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. After Labor Day weekend, vehicle fees are once again $8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends only, until mid-November when fees are no longer charged.

History

The west end of Fire Island was part of a colonial grant to

William "Tangier" Smith William "Tangier" Smith (February 2, 1655 – February 18, 1705) was a governor of Tangier, on the coast of Morocco, and an early settler of New York who owned more than of Atlantic Ocean waterfront property in central Long Island in New York Stat ...

. In 1825 the federal government acquired the westerly tip to build a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

and David Sammis bought about to the east in 1855 and built the Surf Hotel. In 1892, fears of a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic spread by passengers on ships arriving in New York prompted the state to acquire the hotel property to establish a quarantine station. Irate local citizens obtained an injunction blocking the quarantine station and occupied the site despite the arrival of troops. In 1908, Governor

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

signed legislation designating the former Surf Hotel property as Long Island's first state park, known then as Fire Island State Park. The island and the park have grown since that time; for decades, sand has accumulated along Fire Island's western tip at a rate of per year, increasing the island's length by since 1825. At the time of the park's establishment, the island's western tip was near where the park's water tower stands today. A 1918 fire destroyed the boardwalk and the few buildings on the site. In 1924, the state established the

headed by

as part of a statewide park and parkway program, also run by Moses. The commission obtained from the federal government of beach west of the lighthouse that had been formed by shifting sand. In 1926 the first bathhouse was erected. After the

hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

devastated the park, the commission decided to rebuild farther east near the lighthouse, and sand was pumped onto the beach to raise a portion of the island to a height of above sea level. In 1940, the first modern bathhouse opened to the public, replacing facilities destroyed by the hurricane. RMSP deer 2013

Ferry service was maintained from

to the park until 1964 when the

opened. The park was renamed for Moses that same year. Attendance boomed, and three parking fields with bathhouses were added. Robert Moses State Park celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 27, 2008. The anniversary coincided with the completion of several improvements at the park, including a $700,000 rehabilitation of the bathhouse at Field 3. The renovation improved and expanded bathroom facilities, repaired the park's

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

and clock, and replaced a glass and metal storefront added to the building in the 1980s with a new exterior consistent with the building's original architecture. The renovations were part of $132 million in improvements for New York's state parks and historic sites enacted in 2008. In 2013, a $7.7 million

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

and beach restoration project was conducted to replenish beaches damaged during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

. The project used about of sand removed during dredging of the

Captree State Park Captree State Park is a state park located in the towns of Babylon and Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The park is located south of Captree Island on the easternmost end of Jones Beach Island, and overlooks the Fire Island ...

boat canal to restore beaches at Robert Moses State Park. A $1.7 million project to increase energy efficiency and install a 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic power system at the park was announced in 2015. The planned improvements aim to make Robert Moses State Park the first energy-neutral state park in the United States. In 2019 a proposal was made by

Manhattanville Manhattanville (also known as West Harlem or West Central Harlem) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and on t ...

representative

Daniel J. O'Donnell Daniel J. O'Donnell (born November 17, 1960) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he is a member of the New York State Assembly. O'Donnell represents the 69th district in Manhattan, made up of the neighborhoods of M ...

to rename Robert Moses State Park in the light of a re-evaluation of the history of Long Island and the legacy of Robert Moses. The bill did not include a proposal for a new name. In February of 2021 the bill progressed on to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

calendar, where as of December 2021 it still sits. As of 2014, the facility attracts approximately 3.5 million visitors per year.

References

External links

New York State Parks: Robert Moses State Park - Long Island
{{authority control 1908 establishments in New York (state) Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Fire Island, New York Parks in Suffolk County, New York Protected areas established in 1908 Robert Moses projects State parks of New York (state)

Park description

Access and hours

History

See also

References

External links