Saving Fire Island from Robert Moses by Christopher Verga

Author:Christopher Verga
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2019-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

The main strip of Cherry Grove, Fire Island. Queens Borough Public Library, Archives, Long Island Daily Press Photograph Morgue Collection.

Throughout the rediscovery of Fire Island in the 1950s and early 1960s, vacationers grew concerned about maintaining and preserving the island. Communities outside of Point O’ Woods formed activist groups with the goal of maintaining the island ways of life. Leaders of these groups had to balance the collective potential of seventeen communities on the island. These leaders represented some of New York’s most powerful business owners; best public relations executives, writers, editors, actors and artists; wealthiest families and most feared lawyers.

The valuable network of visitors was not confined to the island. On the island and the mainland, elected officials began to notice the generated tax revenue from the homes, which utilized close to no public works. Economic benefits of this exclusive reputation kept rentals booked and ferries packed with vacationers who brought more political influence along with their affluence and large amounts of disposable income.

The surrounding South Shore communities of Bay Shore and Sayville had their downtowns prosper thanks to people passing through to the ferries. Boatyards, which were slow during the year, made their entire revenue for the year during the peak Fire Island season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Bay Shore and Sayville Chamber of Commerce found a way to collectively form a successful consolidation of power among businesses that prospered from the seasonal visitors. The chamber of commerce soon generated a strong political influence on local and state elections. Building an organization that consolidated various concerned citizens, their influence and their wealth, the Bay Shore and Sayville Chamber of Commerce established influential power locally and was able to extend its sway to the federal level.

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